Not All Red Threads
by Juri.DP
Summary: The Red String Of Fate - an invisible thread that connects lovers who are meant to be. Does it simply link the two or does it draw them closer? In this story, two characters find out what it truly means to be bound across time and what prices there are to pay. (Please bear with the pace/Rated M for chapters FAAAAAR in the future.)
1. Chapter 1

**_Not All Red Threads #1_**

"What's on your mind, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked. Orihime turned her head towards her friend and stared at her blankly for a second. Her and her friends were walking home from school, and, if they had talked to her this whole time, she could not hide the fact that her mind was preoccupied with other things.

"What do you mean?" she smiled faintly.

"You've been staring off into space like something's on your mind."

"Oh, well, yes," she giggled softly. "I was just thinking about what we learned in class today."

"Arithmetics?" Chizuru asked.

"Do you need me to tutor you?" Tatsuki inquired.

"No, no, no," Orihime waved her hand in the air. "I mean about the thread."

Her friends looked at each other questioningly.

"You mean The Red String Of Fate?" Tatsuki clarified skeptically.

"Yeah." Orihime let her face fall as the topic came back into her mind.

"Why do you look so troubled over a myth?"

"Well," she began, "if we are all bound to our soul mates by an invisible red thread, it just makes me wonder why not everyone seems to find the person that's meant for them."

"Orihime," Tatsuki sighed playfully, "it's just a _myth_."

"Don't believe her, Orihime!" Chizuru yelled.

"The hell?" Tatsuki countered defensively.

"I believe The Red String Of Fate merely connects us to our soul mate, Orihime." She looked off into the distance solemnly. "Unfortunately, I think it is only luck that people find who they're truly suppose to be with. Too bad it's only a string. If it were...a rubberband or something then there would at least be a force pulling you closer together. We could be bound to someone across the country. Maybe even across the world!" She looked at her auburn haired friend. "Or maybe in another life time."

Tatsuki snorted indignantly, clearly pissed about the stupid logic she was trying to drill into the impressionable girl's head. "How the hell is your soul mate in another life time?"

"Hey! I didn't make up the rules!"

"You sure as hell don't know them either."

While her friends argued over the logic of The Red Thread, Orihime slipped back into her thinking. Who was she bound to and did she ever have a chance of finding him? That is to say, it's not like she didn't have a slimmer of hope to think she had already met her soul mate; preferably, a boy with carrot top hair. There are many people in the world, so is it possible that she could be destined to be with Kurosaki-kun? Would he be okay if he was bound to her in some way? What if he hoped to be with someone else? Someone who was the complete opposite of her? She couldn't see herself being happy with anyone else, but if she wasn't meant for him...then who?

***Two weeks later***

She was told many times to not take the short cut through the woods to get back home, but it was getting late and Kurosaki-kun was suppose to stop by to pick up his things. He had dropped his bag with his books along with his uniform jacket when he went into his gigai form a few days ago and he would need them before school started again. Since Kon wasn't around, she took it upon herself to gather his things and put Kurosaki-kun's body against a tree so it would look like he was sleeping. It didn't dawn upon her that she should have put his things next to his body until she was already home. There was no use arguing with her lack of logic now because, the fact of the matter is, she had his things and he needed them.

She ran through the forest, occasionally stumbling over roots and rocks. She did not think herself a clumsy person, but, rather, the world shifting itself so she _wouldn't_ fall and stumble and failing to time its shifting accurately because she was such an unpredictable human.

She was crossing through a clearing in the forest – a clearing so densely packed with trees overhead and foliage on the ground – when the world began to rumble and spasm under her feet. She stopped, trying to regain her balance, and looked around. She saw nothing, yet, felt a surge of immense power.

"Wind Scar!"

There was a blast of air that blew in her direction, literally lifting her up and throwing her against a tree. She screamed in surprise and hit the ground with a thud. The impact did not hurt her, she's been through much worse, but the shock she felt rattled her nerves. She struggled to her hands and knees, willing her heart to calm down. What was that?

She looked up to see some type of monster more than one hundred yards away backing up in her direction. It was large and dark green. It appeared to be a bull, but it was snarling like a dog. She pushed herself up, her large, grey eyes marveling at the creature; she's never seen a Hollow like this before. More puzzling than that, she hadn't even sensed it. The immense power she felt earlier was not coming from the Hollow, yet, she felt no trance of energy coming from him. How could she not? How was it possible that something so huge could not be putting off any spiritual pressure? Even if it had hidden its spiritual pressure until now, she still didn't sense _anything_ from it.

The Hollow stood up on its hind legs then slammed them down on the ground. There was a shock wave that uprooted most of the trees and a deafening sound that drowned out her screams. She struggled to keep her balance from her position on the ground while avoiding being crushed by falling branches and towering pieces of jagged bark. She looked back at the monster and saw a red blur jump in the air.

"Hand over the Jewel Shard!" There was a voice attached to that blur – a male voice.

"Never! Foolish boy, I shall become all powerful!" the Hollow growled.

"Yeah, I've heard that before."

The blur yelled, and a gust of bright wind came down on the Hollow. Orihime shielded her eyes from the attack and braced herself against the onslaught of air. Screeching, louder and more grotesque than anything she's ever heard, came from the Hollow.

She peeked through her eyes and saw that the Hollow was split down the middle, laying lifeless on the ground; it was spewing green-black blood and it smelled horrible. The red blur landed in the middle of the dead Hollow and started looking through its insides. What was he doing?

"Gotcha!" the figure exclaimed, bending down to dig through the carcass. He stood up, holding something in his hand. He put whatever he was holding in his cloak and began walking away.

What just happened? Why did it happen? Orihime watched as the figure almost faded from her view, but she desperately wanted to know why something like that happened. Wasn't it Rukia-chan and Kurosaki-kun's job to defend Karakura town? Or, probably, there were more protectors than she thought. Protectors that were more unrefined from the other Soul Reapers, it seemed.

The Orihime noticed something strange beginning to happen. The two halves of the Hollow began to shake and slithered upright, fusing together.

"That is mine, half demon!" It charged at the cloaked person.

"Tck! Persistent wretch!" The figure turned around, but was too late to defend himself, resulting in one of the Hollow's horns going through his stomach. He yelled, blood filling his throat.

"I may not be able to live long without the shard, but at least I will take you with me!" the Hollow shook its head from side to side with the figure still on his horns.

"D-Damn you!" He touched his wound. "Blades of Blood!"

Red blades came from his hand and cut the Hollow in multiple places. It screamed and fell to the ground one chunk after another.

"Curse you half bloods!"

The pieces of the Hollow dissolved into goo like substances. Orihime maintained her place on the ground, staring blankly at the scene before her. What had happened? That Hollow was dead and then it came back and...died again? What had she missed? This wasn't how her day normally goes, so where had things gone awry? She was walking through the forest, the one she wasn't suppose to go through, and then... She ended up walking in on a battle? That didn't seem like part of her normal day. Usually a battle just happens to find its way to her.

She got to her feet and looked at the piles of goo. It registered in her mind that this was the aftermath of the battle she walked in on. It was once a bull like Hollow that snarled like a dog and talked like a man under water. She looked around some more, searching; someone was hurt, she understood that much. She ran over to the horrible smelling piles and hesitantly looked around. There was definitely someone here, wasn't there?

"Ah!" There! The red cloaked figure was lying face down under a thin layer of goo. There was a gaping hole going through his torso that was bleeding profusely. She stared in shock, unable to register how she was looking at the ground with no interruption of a spine, at least. "Sh-Shun'ō! Ayame!"

She saw the bright, luminous ribbons and felt the wisps of air as the two of them appeared in front of her.

"Hiya, Orihime!" Shun'ō chimed. He sniffed the air and his face scrunched up. "Ugh! What is that horrible smell?!" he exclaimed as he covered his nose with both hands.

"Someone's been hurt!" she told them, pointing at the figure on the ground. They looked in the direction she was pointing and shrieked.

"What happened to him?"

"He was attacked by a Hollow," she explained, "and he got rammed through the stomach!"

"Rammed through?!" Shun'ō held on to his own stomach. "Why did you just call us here and not get straight to healing him?!"

"Eh..." She hesitated as she thought of her reasons. She did have a reason for doing what she did which is why she did what she did. Her main reason, one she thought against saying out loud, was because she couldn't face looking at such a horrific sight on her own. "B-because I was afraid that if we heal him with the goo still on him then it'll get inside."

Shun'ō looked like he was going to dispute that idea, but then began to ponder on it. "I want to say that that is unlikely, but I'm not so sure." He glanced in the direction of the figure absentmindedly, suddenly jerking forward. "Ayame! Don't go near him! You could get that disgusting goop on you!"

Ayame ignored him and inched closer to the unconscious being. She examined him then looked back at her comrades, pointing at his wound.

"What?" Shun'ō asked, reluctantly getting closer to the body. "Hm? Oh!" He turned to Orihime. "Orihime, I think this smelly stuff is keeping his wounds from bleeding."

She smiled, albeit sickened by how this only proved how cozy the insides of the former Hollow was getting with this wounded boy. "Ah! That's great!"

"Well...not exactly. If we don't get him cleaned up then he'll get an infection for sure." He glanced at the figure again then closed his eyes, looking back up at the auburn girl. "Yes, we'll be able to heal him, but, if he dies before then, we may not be able to heal him before his body becomes too decomposed to revive. I fear you're not that strong yet." He glanced at the body. "And this goop is already eating away at his insides."

"I-I thought it was helping him!"

"I didn't mean to make you think that way. Yes, the bleeding is being halted, but not without a cost."

She panicked. "We need to get him to my apartment! But...how do I get him there?" The three of them looked at each other.

***o0o0o0o***

"Thank you so much, Hinagiku. Baigon. Lily," Orihime addressed brightly. She had them use their powers to act like a transporting table. The figure was on top and they were helping her take him to her home. Initially, flipping him over so he wouldn't be laying face down was a problem; no matter how gently they moved him, his organs seemed ready to fall out. Ultimately, as a last resort, she had the three crawl under him before using their powers in the way she intended.

"No problem, Orihime-chan," Lily beamed. "But you know..." She stopped abruptly and began to giggle to herself.

"What's funny?" Orihime asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" she squealed. "What exactly are you going to do when you get him to your house anyway?"

"Well...I have to clean him up, of course."

"And why is that?" she giggled.

"So...the gooey stuff doesn't get trapped inside him when we heal him."

"That's what I thought!" She exploded into laughter again.

"Lily, I don't get what you think is funny," she admitted. She couldn't understand how Lily found something like this, a serious issue that was running the clock on any useful time she had left, funny. Someone's life was in danger and laughing wasn't going to make it better. Well...not laughing wouldn't make a difference either...

"It's nothing, I promise."

Orihime doubted that - Lily could hardly keep her tone remotely convincing due to all the laughter.

"So, are you going to give him a bath or something?"

Orihime jumped at the suggestion. "Eh?! No! Well...I didn't really think about it. Um..."

She bowed her head, messing with her fingertips as she thought. Did she not say she had to get him cleaned? Yes, certainly she did, she meant it, but she had not given any thought into how she meant to do that. Despite what Lily suggested, that left his exposed organs. How could she begin to clean those and not have him bleed out before she could heal him? How could she clean him and not have them _fall out_? Her brows furrowed and her heart began to beat faster. Maybe this was a job she shouldn't have taken on solely by herself. What could she possibly expect to do for this stranger?

She looked up. "Ah! We're here!"

They hurried up the stairs to her door and used her key to let them in. They came inside and set him on her sofa, taking a risky chance at flipping him on his back – Lily turned into her tiny, fairy form while Baigon and Hinahiku went back to Orihime's hairpins. She knelt next to the figure.

"Boy, he smells awful," Lily gagged, appearing to the left of her head.

"Doesn't he?!" Shun'ō agreed. He and Ayame appeared to the right of her head.

She looked down at him. Yes, he did smell pretty bad, but it's not his fault. She eyed his wound. No time to worry about the smell. She has to clean him up fast. She hesitantly took hold of his shihakushō. It was slimy and thick with the goo. Lily began to chuckle. Orihime looked at her.

"Don't laugh!" She blushed. "I have to do this."

"Yeah, yeah!" she snickered, covering her mouth. "Don't mind me."

Orihime gulped. She looked back at the task at hand and pulled the material apart. The hole through his chest looked worst than she thought and the green slime was everywhere!

"Oh my,ˮ Orihime awed.

"She actually did it!" Lily burst into laughter.

"What's so funny, Lily?!" Orihime looked at her desperately, her cheeks hot and surely a dark pink.

"What you're _doing_ is funny!" She was doubled over, laughing wildly. "I don't know where you got it in your head that you needed to clean him up! A-Ayame and Shun'ō's ability would ha-have just- would have just returned him to the state he was originally in! Y-you didn't have t-t-t-to go and strip him!" She was practically rolling in the air. "But you did! You actually did!"

Orihime's cheeks became inflamed. She sat up straight, hands floating in mid-air. She knew all along! Lily knew what she was doing was unnecessary, but said nothing! No wonder she found this hilarious.

"Are you serious?" Shun'ō asked, hands wildly flailing in the air.

Lily forced herself to calm down. "That's so sad, Shun'ō." She wiped tears from her eyes. "I know more about your powers than you do."

"I wasn't the only one!" He turned to Ayame. "You were in the dark too, weren't you, Ayame?"

She stared at him blankly, it wasn't a look that denied his question.

"What?! You knew?!"

She nodded.

"Why didn't you say something? We're in this together, aren't we?"

She looked to the side, eyes indifferent.

"Ayame!" he whined. Lily began her laughing fit all over again.

"Th-this is too much!" Lily laughed. "If I stay any longer you all are going to kill me!" She returned to Orihime's hairpins, but this was unnoticed by the other two.

"U-Um," Orihime timidly interrupted, "I'd hate to sound like a burden...but can we heal him now?"

Shun'ō turned to her, dejected. "Anytime you're ready." He looked at Ayame. "Ready?"

She nodded.

Orihime cleared her throat. "Shun'ō. Ayame. Sōten Kisshun, I reject!"

Immediately, they formed a transparent, yellow dome around the figure. The pace at which he was recovering was surprisingly fast, the bone and organs were connecting in a way that twisted her stomach. Within a little over a minute, the figure was healed and the goo that once covered him was completely gone. His shihakushō was repaired as well. Now that he was cleaned up, he looked to be around her age, but she couldn't be certain.

"Wow," she said as the two of them reverted back to their fairy form. They seemed exhausted, which is something she's never seen before. "You guys are getting faster at this."

"That wasn't all us, Orihime," Shun'ō said, perplexed by the occurence. "He seemed to be healing on his own before we even got started."

"Healing on his own?" she repeated. "From a wound like that?"

"Yeah, and that's not all." His eyes drooped and he almost fell out of the air, Ayame was the same.

"Are you guys okay?" She held her hands out to them (hands she vaguely noted were clean) and they gladly fell.

"There's something weird about his aura, Orihime," Shun'ō panted. "I sense something similar to a Hollow, but it's darker than that."

"Like a Hollow?" Is he like Ichigo?

"Pardon us, Orihime," he all but slurred. Both he and Ayame returned to her hairpins as well.

What happened to them? She looked over at the boy on her sofa and really took in his features. She's never seen him in the Soul Society before, and he looked completely different from any Soul Reaper she's seen. First off, his shihakushō was red. She's never seen anyone wear anything other than black, and she's sure she would have spotted him easily if he were in the Soul Society the few times she's been there. Maybe he's new? She looked down at his feet and saw he wasn't wearing any shoes. That's definitely not protocol, right? Then again, she hasn't been to the Soul Society in so long, not since they saved Rukia. Who knows what else could have changed.

Her eyes wandered to his sheathed sword, but this was more confusing than the two previous oddities. The sword now is very thin and straight. The one she saw him use was wide, curved, and appeared to be thick. He hadn't released his bankai, so how was his blade able to transform? Now that she thinks back on that battle, how was he able to make blades from his own blood? What is the Soul Society teaching these days?

Her eyes fell on his hands and then to his toes and back. His fingernails and toenails looked more like claws. Now that she thinks about it, the way he looks clashes with the whole style and appearance of the Soul Society. They may vary within themselves, but they have a sort of methodical and sophisticated look about them. Everything is in order. This boy is the opposite. Everything about him screams...wild and untamed. Even his hair was wild. She's never seen hair so silver, so animal like. Kenpachi-san's hair isn't this...this...outrageous! She stopped herself, feeling ashamed. She should not think poorly of this boy. Weird or not, he's part of the Soul Society. Well, that's the only logical conclusion. Where else could he have come from?

Better yet...what does she do now? Does she tell someone what happened? This is something to report, isn't it? She could always go to Kurosaki-kun and Rukia-chan, maybe even Ishida-kun, but...then what?

She stared at the boy as he slept – hopefully he was sleeping. He had a scowl on his face, kind of like Kurosaki-kun, but then again it's nothing like him. He's quite... Eh? She stared at the things on top of his head. What _are_ those things? They look like...ears. Ears? Dog ears?

"Cosplay?" she mumbled. "They do that in the Soul Society?" She snapped her fingers. "Maybe it's a new training tactic! That's clever! This way subordinates learn to listen to their captains! 'Attack!' they'd say and they will charge! 'Fetch!' and they'd retrieve who knows what beyond enemy lines. And to stay hidden I bet they say...'Play dead' or 'Heel' or...or 'Sit!'"

Suddenly the figure's ears twitched. She stared at them, breath caught. How can they move like that? How can fake ears move so realistically like that? She leaned in towards him.

"S-sit." They twitched again. She jumped back. They're so life-like. Who came up with these? Captain Mayuri? Could he have surgically...? No, no, no. There's no way he could get away with doing that to all the new recruits. Well...she wasn't sure how many new recruits they got. She stared intently at these fascinating specimens. She wondered if they would...feel real. She sat up straight, inspecting the room. Maybe a little touch wouldn't hurt. She leaned towards him again, fingers extended, itching to touch them, heart pounding.

As if to stop her, the doorbell rang. She squeaked, bolting to a standing position. At first, she truly thought someone had caught her. Her face was hot, and she wasn't sure why. She wasn't doing anything bad... The door rang again. She turned on her heels and went to the door. She opened it by a crack.

"Ah! K-Kurosaki-kun!"

"Hey, Orihime," he said.

"I, um, I forgot you were coming over." She looked away from him nervously, but forced herself to look back up at him. Why does she feel like she's trying to hide something? Didn't she need help in some way not too long ago?

"Is everything alright?" he asked, eyeing her.

"Y-yes." She didn't want help anymore. "Y-you came to get your things, right?" She smiled.

"Yes, I-"

"Alright! Stay here!"

She closed the door and looked around. Where did she put his things? She ran to her room. She looked in the closet, under her bed, and even in her dresser. She then ran to the bathroom, looking in cabinets, in the shower. That's silly, why would she put it there? Think, Orihime, she told herself, think! She ran into the hall, allowing her mind to race. Her apartment wasn't that big so where...? Oh! That's right! She ran into the kitchen and opened the oven.

"Found you!" she smiled radiantly. She pulled out his hand bag and jacket and hurried to the door. "Here you go!" She said, handing him his things through a cracked space.

"Thanks," he said, staring at them longer than he intended before he took them. He looked at her questioningly. He knew she had weird tendencies, so this didn't bother him much. However, she was the one who reminded him of his forgotten things and, rather than bringing them to school, had strongly implied that he pick them up before then. He figured she must have wanted him over for some reason...but now she's acting like this. "Is something going on?"

"No," she said immediately. "You know me," she forced a laugh. "Just, uh, just...uh...me!" she laughed again.

"Yeah, I guess." Though he didn't understand what that was supposed to mean at all. Maybe he had looked into her meaning too much. "Well, thanks, Inoue. See you tomorrow."

"Yes! Bye, Kurosaki-kun!" She closed the door and pressed her back against it. She felt tense and her heart was beating in her ears. She also noted how dark it was getting and worried if she should have walked back down with him.

She looked over at the figure on her sofa, and her face burned brightly. What if Kurosaki-kun had seen him? It's not like she didn't have a reason for him to be here, but what would he think? Orihime shook her head and exhaled. That's not the most important thing to think about right now. No, the most important thing is to make sure this boy was okay and hopefully get him back to where he needs to be. How long would he be asleep, though? Usually, people wake up right after she's healed them, so why is he still sleeping?

She tiptoed over to him. He was breathing, so why wasn't he awake? She looked down at him from a distance. With a scowl like that, could he really be sleeping? She sat on her legs and stared at the boy, wondering when he joined the Soul Society and why he was dressed so differently. Maybe she should have asked Kurosaki-kun for help after all because she had no idea what she should do next. She couldn't just let him stay like this, could she? He wasn't waking up. Maybe she could still catch up with him if-

"Nn..."

Orihime held her breath again; her eyes were wide with anticipation, hoping the boy would make another sound, but it didn't look like much more was going to happen. That was the first sound she heard him make since he fell unconscious.

"Does this mean you're okay?" she whispered to him.

Of course, he said nothing.

She scooted closer to him. She slowly extended her hand so she could poke his cheek. Surprisingly, it was a lot smoother and softer than she thought it would be. She eyed his silver hair and cautiously stroked it. She was amazed by the feel of it that she couldn't make herself stop – it felt like fluffy dog fur, but, if she closed her eyes, knew it didn't belong to an animal. She had always wanted a dog, though.

"I would have called him Inu-kun," she said absentmindedly as she thought of all the stray dogs she'd occasionally stop to talk to on the way home. She decided not to get a dog now since she didn't want a helpless animal getting hurt by a Hollow – or worse.

* * *

Unaware to the auburn girl, the figure she was petting started to stir, if only for a little bit. He had been vaguely aware that something was touching him, but he put it out of his mind because it was soothing. It reminded him of his mother when he was a child and how she would stroke his head when he was sad, but the touch he felt at this very moment was too far away – just like the memory.

"...Inu-kun..."

His ears twitched. Had someone called him? No. Why would someone call him by a name such as that? When he was little, he imagined other children calling him that – maybe to invite him to play or come eat a snack with them –

_"Inu-kun, let's play with your ball."_

_"Inuyasha, please come to the river with us."_

- but that never happened and he gave up on that ideal many, many years ago. Yet, he was sure someone had just called his name. Why wasn't he sure? And why was everything dark? His body felt heavy and his mind was drowsy, but he didn't know why. He took a few moments to ponder over it – mainly so he could enjoy the distant memory of a comforting touch – when his senses started to become more aware. There was a smell in the air that he wasn't familiar with and it was all around him. It was fragrant like a flower, but made him think of a fruit. Peaches maybe? Possibly apples. Is it possible it could be both? He started to believe it was both. Kagome smells like apples, but not like this... So, when did she start smelling different? How could he find her if she decided to change her scent like this? She should be lucky that he was here to notice it now, otherwise...

Wait. How could she be here, next to him, when he just got here? No, no he didn't. He arrived in her world after he followed that demon. So, this scent couldn't be coming from her. This scent was like Kagome's, but was definitely not her. He had to get back to her. As much as he didn't want to leave the comforting sensation, he willed himself to get out of this heavy fog.

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes – surprised by how difficult it was for him – and was certain he was not in a place he was familiar with. The walls were bright like Kagome's room, but her room was pink and these were yellow and pale. Why was he here? He suddenly became aware that there was someone next to him.

He slowly turned his head to the side, he was starting to really feel the effects of his sluggish fatigue. He didn't understand what, or rather, _who_ he was looking at. It was a girl with orange hair, bangs clipped to the side with some kind of fancy hair ornament. She was seated next to him with her knees up with one arm wrapped around them. She had her chin resting on her knees and she was looking down, concentrating on something or perhaps nothing at all. He was now aware that she was the one who caused those memories of his mother because she was running her fingers through his hair. He frowned. Who the hell is she and what the hell does she think she's doing?

"Who are you?" he asked.

* * *

Orihime looked up in alarm. She locked eyes with golden ones that took her breath away. She'd never seen an eye color such as his and they were looking at her so fiercely.

"Um," she began. She looked at the hand still in his hair and took it away. "Sorry!" she said as she wrapped it around her legs. "I-I didn't mean to wake you. Well, I'm glad you did because I didn't know what to do since you were sleeping even after the hole in your stomach was gone and-"

"Hole?" The boy pulled back his clothing to look at his body. Orihime quickly buried her face in her knees as heat rushed to her cheeks.

"You were hurt in battle and I...I healed you. I hope that's okay."

* * *

Inuyasha stared at his bare stomach for a while and tried to make sense of things. He had gotten hurt? When? He didn't remember something like that hap... Oh wait. Yes, he does remember! He had been pondering over and argument he and Kagome had a week ago (she hadn't been back since, so he figured he had to go get her eventually), when a demon made itself known. Naturally, he followed it, and, naturally, it attacked him. The bastard ran his horn through his body. He remembers that, so how is it possible that the hole isn't there? She claims it happened as well, so where was it? Had he been unconscious so long that it had healed to such an extent?

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Um," the girl said with her head down, "about fifteen minutes." Fifteen minutes?! He remembered Kagome saying that the time it took him to run through the forest near a tree with heart shaped leaves and back was about fifteen minutes, and that was no time at all! There's no way that can be true. He sat up expecting pain to shoot through him, but, at worst, he only felt pain in his shoulders from waving the Tetsaiga around and even that pain was duller than it usually was.

"What did you do to me?" he asked suspiciously. The girl peeked up at him. She had huge grey eyes. He's never seen an eye color quite like that.

"I healed you," she said again. "Um...I dunno if you learned that certain people can do that in the Soul Society...but I just returned you to how you were before the accident happened."

"What are you talking about?" What the hell is this Soul Society she was talking about? For that matter, what the hell is she? She smells like a human, but, then again, there's something about her that says she has some type of abilities. "You know what? Nevermind." He stood up and the weird girl stood up clumsily as well and took a few steps back.

* * *

Orihime now felt intimidated by the boy once he got to his feet. Not only was he about four inches taller than her, but he stood with so much confidence. He definitely appeared to have a normal scowl like Kurosaki-kun. He looked around the room and sniffed a couple of times. If he was on edge, she surely could not tell.

"Where is this place?" he asked; she wasn't sure if it was to her or himself.

"K...Karakura Town," she answered anyway. He gave her a weird look and slowly began to walk around her apartment. She followed him, with her eyes, wherever he went; he seemed to be intrigued with her abode, but that's silly. It was nothing special.

"Kara...kura?" he said questioningly. He turned to her; he didn't have time to truly understand any of this, it seemed. "Do you know how to get to Kagome's house?"

"Kagome?" Orihime raked her brain to see if she knew anyone by that name. "What does she look like?"

"About this tall," he raised his hand to the top of her head, "black hair, always where's a green skirt and a white shirt with some green here and here." He pointed to his collar and sleeves. "Heard of her?"

Orihime stopped to think. She was sure she _didn't_ know anyone by that name, but the description of her outfit made her think she attended one of the schools on the other side of town. Way on the other side of town.

"Well, the name doesn't sound familiar, but I think I know the school she attends, if that helps."

* * *

He figured that would be better than nothing. He didn't want to be in this house any longer with such a strange girl. She seemed nice and all, but if she was going to be a problem in some way – which is the case for a good majority of the people he meets – then he wanted no part of it. Besides, she had big boobs. That wasn't a reason he didn't want to get involved with her, but he's never seen a girl with such huge boobs.

"That'll work. Just point me in the direction." He'd pick up Kagome's scent eventually and then he could end all this nonsense.

"O-okay," the girl said. She ran over to her door and opened it. "Um, it's that way," she pointed to the east, "but I'm not sure how right that is." Inuyasha walked out the door and looked in the direction she pointed. He sniffed the air a few times and then his ears perked up.

"Got it," he said.

* * *

Before she knew it, the boy had leaped away. She was amazed at how far he could jump and how far it took him. With that one leap, he was almost a speck the very next second. It didn't look like he knew Flash Step, but, if he was new to the Soul Society, she was amazed at the potential he had. She went back inside and closed the door. She thought today ended kind of strange. She also wished that she hadn't rushed Kurosaki-kun's visit, seeing as how short...I-Inu...kun stayed. Hm. Funny, she didn't catch that boy's name. It probably wouldn't matter because she wouldn't have a need to talk to him again.

"He can be Inu-kun," she pouted. Orihime was walking to her room when something on her sofa caught her eye. She walked over and picked up a tiny, pink crystal.

* * *

Inuyasha arrived at Kagome's house not long after eight that night. He would have gotten there sooner – he could have been there in just a few minutes after he left – but he had stalled many times. Kagome seemed really mad when she left last time. She didn't tell him to sit or anything. If anything, she looked like she was about to cry and he didn't understand it. In all honesty, he didn't even know what he did to make her so upset.

"Girls," he sighed as he approached Kagome's window. He peered in. She was sitting at her desk with her chin resting in her palm. She was staring at the wall; she looked like she had a lot on her mind. For a moment, he debated on whether or not he should knock on her window, but, then again, he rarely did that anyway. If he did that now then she may think he's being submissive because he did something wrong. He _didn't _do anything wrong. He would have remembered that. He opened her window and went inside.

"Inuyasha," she said, shocked. "What are you doing here?" she asked a little more composed. He adjusted himself and looked at her.

"I'm here to bring you back."

"Hmph." She glared at him. "Is that all?"

He huffed. "You're mad about something, so you might as well just tell me 'cause I have no idea what's got you so upset." If he sounded irritated, he didn't mean to, but she's always mad at him for one thing or another.

"If you don't know what I'm mad about then I might as well stay here." She turned away from him. This time he really was irritated.

"Stop being so stubborn, Kagome! Look, whatever I did, I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to do...whatever it is I did..."

She turned toward him with a quickness that was so unlike her, it caused him to flinch just a bit.

"I heard you tell Miroku that I'm not that important to the team!"

"What?" Was she making stuff up now? Is it possible that she really is starting to get angry with him for no reason? "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You told him that I don't contribute much and that all I do is purify the jewel shards!"

He stared at her in confusion – confusion and utter amazement at how she interprets what he says.

"Okay," he sighed. "First off, you have to stop eavesdropping. Second, that's not what I said." She was about to protest, but he quickly continued. "_What _I said was that you have the easy part of all of this. Other than getting attacked and being kidnapped all the time, you don't have much at stake in all this. Sango worries over her brother, Miroku worries over being sucked up by that hole in his hand, and even Shippo worries over crud. Hell if I know what a kid like him has to worry about, but being a demon has its down sides."

"I worry, too, Inuyasha! I worry about all of you! Especially you."

"You don't need to worry about me."

"No? You're obsessed with becoming a demon! You fight all these other demons much stronger than you, you get hurt and nearly die, and then you're at it again! You never take a break!"

"I don't have time for a break! Every moment we're not looking for the shards is a moment that everyone is getting more powerful!"

"Don't you get it?! The hardest part about doing all of this is hoping that you won't get hurt, but you're always running off into danger!"

Inuyasha didn't have anything to say to that. If she worries so much then why doesn't she ever say anything? For that matter, why does she have to worry so much for _him_?

"Look, Kagome, I can't promise that I'll change because of this...but I am sorry for making you think that you're not a valued member. I need you with me."

She blushed and looked at him with wide eyes. "Y...you do?"

"Uh! Well..." he blushed as well, "y-you know. It's not the same when you're not around... Everyone misses you, so we shouldn't keep them waiting."

He never understands how their conversations can sometimes turn out like this. He'll say one thing and then she gets all happy and then her happiness makes him feel...weird. He doesn't understand it and he doesn't even know how to ask her what it could mean.

"So, will you come back?" he asked. She didn't say anything for a while and then she smiled.

"Okay," she nodded. He sighed internally. Glad that's over.

"Oh," he said as he realized he'd forgotten something. "I got a jewel shard today." He looked through his cloak, but seemed to have trouble finding it. "Huh?"

"What's the matter?" She got up and walked over to him.

"I-I can't find it." He became frantic. "I remember putting it in here and now it's gone!"

"Inuyasha," Kagome said curiously.

"What?" He hardly noticed her reaching for something on his shoulder.

"What's this?" He looked as she pulled something off of him. It was a long, orange strand. His eyes widened. This had to be a joke. That girl must have taken it from him while he was unconscious!

"Dammit," he growled under his breath. He knew she would be a problem.


	2. Chapter 2

**_I only have two things to say: Is the cover photo working for you? Also, sorry if there are any formatting issues. It looks wonky on my side, but sometimes it turns out okay. Dunno how to fix it._**

**_S/N: To BloodPokemom101, I hope to keep you in suspense for just a bit.^-^ One revelation at a time._**

**_Not All Red Threads #2_**

A few days later, Orihime went to school and had almost forgotten about the boy from the days before. It was an unusal occurence, but unusual occurences happen from time to time, and she couldn't possibly keep track of every single one. She did, however, occasionally remember him every time she looked at that pink crystal on her desk. Something about it bugged her and she wondered if it belonged to the Soul Society in some way. She sensed a special kind of energy coming from it, but it was like she couldn't actually _feel _anything coming from it at all. If anything, it was like sensing a presence from somewhere in the distance while being in a pitch black room. She figured she'd go to Kisuke's shop after school today. The thought came to her randomly, completely out of the blue, and she's been stuck on the idea ever since. She couldn't face asking Kurosaki-kun for help, not after how she wouldn't even let him into her apartment, and she couldn't go to Rukia-chan either. Surely, she'd tell Kurosaki-kun about it eventually, and she did not have it in her to tell them how she came across such a thing. No, it was out of the question.

The auburn girl put it out of her mind once again. No use dwelling on it. She had already made up her mind and to think about it anymore would prove to be a waste of time. If anything, she should be focusing on what was going on at school today because, if truth be told, once she walked into the building she had forgotten where she had intended to go. She's been walking the halls for five minutes with her mind jumping from here to there, but not getting anywhere.

"Orihime!" she heard someone call. She turned around and saw Chizuru running down the hall.

"Hi, Chizu-" She was tackled to the ground by one of Chizuru's hugs.

"My sweet, Orihime!" she gushed as she rubbed their faces together. "It's been so long! I've missed you!"

"Calm down!" Tatsuki grunted, coming from the opposite direction, kicking Chizuru in the stomach with such swiftness and ease that Orihime had been shocked as to why the red-haired girl suddenly became rigid. "It's only been the weekend."

"Y-you're so heartless." Chizuru held her stomach and rolled off of Orihime. Tatsuki helped her to her feet.

"Thank you, Tatsuki," Orihime smiled.

"No problem. How was your weekend?"

"It was good! We didn't have a lot of homework, so I slept a lot. I even found some new recipes to try out."

"New recipes, huh?" Tatsuki forced a smile. "Knowing you, I bet they'll come out...uh, very interesting."

"I hope so," she beamed. She looked down the hall, and her attention was caught by orange, spikey hair. "Ah, Kurosaki-kun!"

He looked in her direction and she now saw Rukia-chan with him, too.

She waved. "Good morning! And good morning to you, too, Rukia-chan!"

Orihime and Tatsuki walked over to them. The two of them, Orihime and Tatsuki, noticed that Ichigo had been spending a lot of time with Rukia lately. Tatsuki worried over how Orihime would take this newfound friendship, seeing how close they appeared to be and how much Orihime liked Ichigo. To her surprise, it didn't seem like her friend was bothered by it, but, then again, this was Orihime she was talking about. She never seemed to be bothered by much – or, at least, not things that would make sense. In truth, Orihime did find the amount of time they spent together troublesome, but she put it off as her being unreasonable. When it came to fighting Hollows, the two of them were a pair. That was a fact that couldn't be helped. It only made sense that they grow closer; protesting such a natural event would be foolish.

"Morning, Orihime-chan," Rukia smiled. "Morning, Tatsuki-chan."

"Morning," Tatsuki replied.

"Inoue, I was just thinking about you," Ichigo said. Orihime blushed a bit.

"R-really?"

"Yeah. I think one of my books is still at your house. Do you mind if I come by to get it after school?"

"Ah! Um, do you need it today?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, I could just stop by your house. I have to go out anyway."

"Sure, that can work," he agreed. "Any time works."

"Okay, I'll-"

There was a rumbling sensation that over took Orihime, Rukia, and Ichigo. If Tatsuki felt it then it was minor in comparison to the other three. There must have been a Hollow nearby and a big one, at that. Rukia and Kurosaki-kun looked at each other.

"We'll catch you guys later," Ichigo said hurriedly. He and Rukia ran down the hall.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki yelled. "Where are you going?! Class starts in five minutes!"

"It's okay, Tatsuki," Orihime assured. "He'll be back."

Tatsuki was convinced by her words, but when she looked at her friend, all reassurance was gone. Yes, Ichigo will be back, but she could tell she wished he hadn't left. By the way she was looking down the hall solemnly, this told her that she didn't like how he always runs off with Rukia.

"You don't like it, do you?" Tatsuki asked. Orihime looked at her friend with her eyes wide and naïve expression as usual.

"Don't like what?"

"How the two of them are always rushing off like that."

"Don't be silly," Orihime smiled. "That's got nothing to do with me."

The raven haired girl frowned; she's too submissive.

"Don't worry, my sweet Orihime," Chizuru said as she snaked her arms around Orihime's body. "Who needs men when we have each other? I'll never run off with someone else."

"I thought I left you in agony," Tatsuki smiled viciously.

"You can't damper love like mine, you little tomboy!" the red-head sang.

"That's it." Tatsuki cracked her knuckles.

***0o0o0o0o***

After school, Orihime decided to walk home alone. Her friends offered to tag along, but she told them that she was going to stop by some place first. She hadn't exactly lied because she _was _going to stop by some place, but it wasn't first. She just needed time to herself. She didn't like it when Tatsuki asked her about what she thought about Kurosaki-kun and Rukia; it made her feel and think things she didn't like to feel or think. Kurosaki-kun was entitled to hang out with whomever he wanted and it's not like he hadn't had girl friends before. There was Tatsuki and herself and...Chizuru? Well, maybe there weren't many, so it's good that he has more. It was just... Why did he have to hang out with Rukia so much? Yes, they were Soul Reapers and they had to stop the Hollows, but even before class, after class, non-school days they were together. After they saved, well, "saved", Rukia, they only grew closer. It was like all his time revolved around being with her. No, this wasn't the main thing that bothered her, but it _did _bother her. She wished he would find time for himself so...so she could feel like he was an approachable person again. She missed the days where she would catch him by himself, avoiding other people if he could, and start a small conversation with him. She missed when he was with his male friends and seeing him...just be the Kurosaki-kun she lo...

She shook her head, letting that thought fall away from her. It was okay, though. The way Kurosaki-kun was now, it was okay. He seemed to be really expressive around Rukia, and if he was happy then she was...she was...

"I am," she said softly. Whatever she was, she agreed with it.

She had not gotten far from the school when she passed people who were rushing away from the direction she was going. They looked freaked out, if not a little scared.

"He's so weird," some guy had said to a girl he was walking with.

"He's dressed so strange and now he's sniffing the ground," a girl said to her group of friends.

Orihime looked at each person that passed her and wondered what they were talking about. Someone dressed weird who was sniffing the ground? Was that really something to be so freaked out about? Then again, what she thought was weird has a higher expectation than everyone else. Curious to see what the fuss was about, and eager to go to Kisuke's shop, Orihime walked a little faster. She was surprised at what she found when she turned the corner.

* * *

He was extremely frustrated with himself, but, more than anything, he was frustrated with his predicament. That girl had taken the jewel shard from him and now he has no idea where to find her. Because he decided not to get involved with her from the beginning, he had not fully distinguished her scent from anyone else in this area. He knew it was similar to Kagome's but sweeter. Or maybe it was a stronger smell than Kagome's? A smell that reminded him of a flower but smelled like a fruit. Or was it...more than one fruit? Yes, it was apple and...something else. Ugh, whatever! He'd know it once he caught a whiff of it.

As if forgetting that girl's scent wasn't bad enough, he had no idea where she lived or the general area. This was certainly a blunder on his part. He'd been in this world for three days now trying to find that shard. He had thought about asking Kagome to help him find it, but he didn't want to admit that he had made such a mistake. No, not to her. When she asked him about the shard he had claimed to have found, he told her that he had forgotten that he took it back to the Feudal Era.

Now here he is, sniffing this whole damn town trying to get a _hint _of a hint of that girl's scent. There weren't that many pleasant smells to begin with, so it was a bewildering experience. Why was it so difficult to find her? He hadn't smelled many girls in this era, so where could she possibly be?

"Um, excuse me." His ears perked up. That voice. He looked behind him and became even more bewildered. There she is! So close and yet he hadn't detected her at all. What the hell? "What are you doing?"

"You." Inuyasha stood up and stormed over to her. "You took the Sacred Jewel Shard and I want it back!"

"The...what?"

"Don't play dumb! You used that whole healing farce to steal the shard. You think by using kindness and hospitality I'd just let you get away with it?"

"I...I'm not sure what you're talking about."

How dare she play him for a fool. Who does she think she is lying to him so boldly like this? She may look convincing with her big eyes and frightened demeanor, but he wouldn't fall for it.

* * *

Orihime was completely confused by this whole thing. She hadn't expected to see him here – had started to forget what he looked like – and then he shows up not far from her school sniffing the ground. It turns out he was looking for _her _and, if that wasn't confusing enough, he claims she took a sacred jewel. How could that be? They had only met once and she hadn't seen anything that resembled a jewel. There was that crystal, but that looked nothing like a jewel.

"Look," the boy said, "just give it back before-"

"Orihime!"

The two of them looked behind her to see Tatsuki coming their way. She had been concerned when Orihime said she wanted to go home alone and decided she'd better tag along anyway. She figured what she had said about Ichigo and Rukia got to her and intended to apologize, but then she saw some silver-haired freak getting too close to her and looking way too fierce for her tastes.

"Ah, hello, Tatsuki," Orihime greeted, uncomfortably. Orihime regretted how she was looking just moments ago because she was sure, she knew very well, that her feisty friend had seen a bit of fear on her face. She didn't want to cause trouble for this boy...

"Yo." The raven haired girl set her glare on the freak in the red outfit. "Who's your friend?"

"Ah..." How could she answer that? "Well-"

"Friend? I'm not her friend," the boy said. "She stole something from me and I want it back!"

Just as the martial arts savvy girl had thought. He was no more than some common thug – a punk who didn't care how awful he was lying.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you better get out of here and stop bugging my friend."

"Uh...Tatsuki—"

"Who are you to demand me around, half pint?"

"Half pint?" Tatsuki scoffed. "Is that the best you got, dog boy?"

"Dog boy?!"

By this point, the two of them were nose to nose and looked ready for an all out brawl. How had this happened? Orihime hadn't a clue and she felt like this was all her fault somehow; she just wished she knew exactly how she caused this.

"If you want to settle this with a fight then I'll gladly oblige," Tatsuki smirked as she threw her things to the ground.

"Now you're speaking my language," the boy smiled. They both stepped back a few paces. "Bring it-"

Suddenly he stopped. He looked to the right like something had caught his attention. Orihime looked in that direction, but only saw a group of bystanders looking at what they thought was going to be a fight. That didn't seem to be the source of his distractions, though.

"Hey, are we gonna do this or what?" Tatsuki barked.

"Tck. Maybe some other time, pipsqueak." He turned to leave, stopped, and turned back towards them. He marched over to Orihime.

"Um..." She didn't know what to do. He was just glaring at her. To her surprise, he began sniffing her from head to toe.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tatsuki roared. He ignored her and set his sights on the orange haired girl once again.

"You won't get away with this that easy."

With that said, he ran off in the direction that must have been of more importance than...whatever he had come here for.

"Orihime," Tatsuki said as she approached her, "who was that guy?"

"Um... I...I'm not sure."

* * *

First that girl steals the jewel from him, then that pint-sized pain in the neck had to get in the way, now a demon shows up. If it weren't for the fact that it was so close to Kagome's house, he could have had the jewel and been back by now. Now he has to go back to _that_ side of town. This back and forth he's been doing has grown to be such a pain, but it's his own fault for letting his guard down so much.

"Dammit," he hissed as he pushed himself to run faster. This whole situation that he found himself in was infuriating.

When he reached Kagome's house, the scent of the demon was stronger than ever. It felt like it was coming from _inside_ her house. He ran to the back of her house and thrust her window open without hesitation.

"Kagome!"

"Eh? Inuyasha? You came too?" She was sitting on her bed with Shippo on her lap.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha jumped inside and sniffed around. The smell was coming from Shippo. "Why do you reek?!" he yelled, furious.

"AH!" Shippo wiggled his way behind Kagome's back. "Don't be mad at me! Since you and Kagome left, we've been attacked by demons left and right! Just come back already!"

"What?" Kagome looked between the two with demon blood. "Inuyasha, you haven't gone back yet?"

Inuyasha pursed his lips ever so slightly. This sort of question was not in his plans. "Ah...well..."

"No, he has not!" Shippo poked his head out to peek over Kagome's shoulder with crocodile tears in his eyes. He pointed at him accusingly. "He's been gone ever since he came to get you two days ago! What makes it worse is that he wasn't even here when I showed up! What have you been doing all this time?!"

"Who do you think you are demanding answers from me, runt?!" He snatched Shippo up by the collar.

"HEY! Lemme go! Lemme go!" he protested and writhed.

"How the hell did you get here anyway? Ain't it dangerous for easy prey like you to be wandering around?"

"Wargh! Well, I wouldn't have to be wandering around if you had just brought Kagome back like we thought!"

Inuyasha balled his fist. "Why you little-!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome interjected. They both stopped their squabbling and looked at her. "What were you doing all this time if you haven't gone back to the Fedual Era?"

"Eh..."

* * *

Despite earlier obstacles, Orihime had managed to get home by herself so she could get the crystal and was now almost to Kisuke's shop. It was a hard task to convince Tatsuki that she would be alright and that there was nothing to worry about. She must admit that she was shocked to see that Soul Reaper again, but she was glad to see he was lively. She wasn't sure if she had actually healed him well enough, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

"And his ears are as perky as ever," she giggled as she swung her bag around. She saw Kisuke's shop up ahead and put a little more pep in her step. She turned into the opened area and saw Ururu swinging a huge, spiked bat for no apparent reason. She looked over as Orihime came closer.

"Oh, hello, bubbly, orange haired lady. If you're looking for Ichigo, he hasn't stopped by to visit for a few days."

"Oh, no, I was hoping to meet with Kisuke-san today."

"What? Really?" She swung her bat in a circle then planted it in the ground. "You remember which one is Kisuke, don't you lady? He's not the nice one with the mustache."

"Of course, of course," Orihime laughed.

Ururu stared at her with those eyes that always suggest she was timid and, maybe, a little wary of her surroundings. She couldn't determine whether or not the person in front of her had actually come all this was to see _Kisuke, _of all people.

"We _are_ talking about the blonde and not the one with the muscles, right?" Ururu asked.

"Yes." Orihime was now confused herself. Didn't she live with Kisuke? She was sure this was the right shop, so she should know who Kisuke is, wouldn't she?

"A-alright. I'll go get him-"

"Did I hear my name being called?" Kisuke emerged out of the shop with his face behind the fan he always carried. He eyed the young woman in front of him. "Well, if it isn't Orihime! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Good day," Orihime bowed. "I was wondering if you could look at something for me."

He fanned himself, eyes gleaming. "You know, Orihime, I'm no doctor, and I don't have the proper license to be doing this, but if you really want to, then follow me to the changing room."

Her cheeks flushed and she immediately started flailing her hands around. "N-n-no, it's nothing like that! S-see, when I was walking through the woods-"

He laughed. "Please, don't take my jokes so seriously. I'll be glad to help, but I do have one question for you."

"Y-yes?"

"Does Ichigo know you're here?"

"Ah...n-no, he doesn't. I think it's best not to trouble him with something as trivial as this."

He laughed joyfully. "Trivial? My dear, by the looks of things," the gaze in his eyes became serious even though his tone stayed light, "you've gotten yourself involved in quite the little mess."

Orihime followed him inside and off to a door to the right, directly after the entrance. Upon entering, she awed at this foreign place and wondered if Ichigo has ever stepped foot in here. The room he took her into was full of complicated looking equipment – nothing new, but definitely nothing outdated – and was dark. Clutter lay everywhere, but she knew they must have all been important in some way. There were large containers with luminescent, green liquid. There were copious amounts of monitors, some on the wall directly across from them, five on the wall to the right of that, and two more on the wall to the left of the first – possibly all computers – but there was one that was surrounded by a lot of clutter that looked the most important out of them all. It was located to the left of the entrance and this was the one Kisuke found suitable to sit at.

"I hope you don't mind the clutter, Miss. Inoue. So, what is it that you came here to ask me? I'm afraid I've jumped to conclusions." He said this, sounded earnest, but began to get equipment prepared, rolling from here to there in his chair, before she answered.

She snapped out of her little trance and dug around in her pocket. "I found this crystal the other day and wanted to know what it is."

"Oh really? And why would you bring it here, Orihime? What makes you think it's something I can handle or, rather, what makes you think it's something that needs to brought to my attention?"

"Ah... Well... I'm not sure. There's something about it that feels different – the energy is unlike anything I've felt from objects of the Soul Society."

"Let me see." He extended his hand to her and she placed the object in question on it. He eyed it for a moment, eyes intent, and turned it over a few times. "You say this came from the Soul Society? How ever did you get there?"

"I didn't. A Soul Reaper with a red shihakushō got hurt in battle the other day and he dropped this after I healed him."

"A Soul Reaper in red? Well, they certainly waited a while to change the colors." He tilted his hat and turned towards his desk. "Alright, let's see what this baby is made of."

He wheeled back to the computer and opened a small container filled with the green liquid. He dropped the crystal in and it made a hissing noise as it settled to the center.

Orihime stared at the container; the light seemed to draw her in. "What is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, this? Just something I came up with to detect hidden components in a large variety of objects. I must say, I have never had an object make a sound like that before."

"Is that...a bad thing?"

"I think we're about to find out."

The container was connected not only to the computer Kisuke was on, but to other things as well. Once he turned on his computer, five other monitors to the right of them also started up. Orihime watched them, fascinated and baffled by all that was going on. Kisuke started madly typing away at the keyboard, causing the monitors to flicker and blink at them.

"And this should do it." He pressed one final button and sat back. Orihime looked back at him, waiting for whatever it was he was waiting for. After a few minutes of beeping, but an overall of nothing happening, she opened her mouth to ask what it was they were waiting for when suddenly, all the other monitors flashed on, all screeching and pulsing light. Orihime was stricken with fear, too shocked to move or make noise. Kisuke remained as he was, occasionally flickering his eyes between screens. The container holding the crystal began to bubble and simmer over, light going from dim to blindingly bright.

All the screens were rapidly scrolling through different numbers, codes, and formulas, all of which made no sense to the auburn girl. This went on for five, seizure inducing minutes when, all at once, everything shut down. The two were surrounded in pitch black darkness.

"Um-" Orihime began.

"Just give it a minute," Kisuke hummed cooly. A low buzz sounded and things slowly powered back on. All the containers started to glow again and the only monitor that came on was the one Kisuke claimed for this session. He tilted his hat back a bit and began typing again.

"Well, that sure was something, wasn't it?" he mused.

"Is that normal?"

He laughed. "Oh, no, not in the slightest!"

"So...what does this mean? What is that crystal?"

"Whatever this is," he reclined, picking up his fan that he set down, "the energy emitting from it is unlike anything I've experienced before."

"Is it...dangerous?"

"Well, as it stands, it won't cause any life threatening effects if you were to hold it, but if the energy in this crystal were to get manifested or channeled in some way, I'm sure the results could be devastating."

Orihime fidgeted. If this was so bad then what was a rookie Soul Reaper doing carrying it around? Was he going to be a problem for them one day? It would explain why he was so eager to leave her apartment.

"Should we return it?"

"Return it?" He looked up at her, fan creating a pleasant breeze that floated up to touch her cheeks. "As far as I'm concerned, Miss. Inoue, this crystal has nothing to do with the Soul Society. In fact, I'm starting to think that your red cloaked friend comes from a different place entirely."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, unless I meet him, I suppose I can't be, but I do know that those stiffs in charge wouldn't change our inconspicuous trademark cloaks to something as identifying as red. That would defeat the purpose of trying to sneak around. Furthermore, I'm able to detect any coming and going activity from any means of transportation from any other world to the world of the living, and none has come from the Soul Society as of late."

Kisuke leaned forward again, pressing a large, green button that released the crystal from its confines with a surge of thick smoke that fell to the ground like bushels off a tree. The crystal was ejected through the liquid, up into the air, which Kisuke caught on its way down. "Also, I can add that this has immense power for something that appears to be fragment of a whole. The fact that something like this exists and the Soul Society has no interest in it – or has no knowledge of it – only suggests that this comes from somewhere out of our jurisdiction, for the moment."

"So... So, what do you think I should do?"

"Well," he handed it back to her, "I think you'd have a better answer from that cloaked friend of yours. I have a feeling he'll be back." He was right. He had been back, but he left so unexpectedly. Yes, he'd surely be back.

"Thank you, Kisuke-san." She bowed. "What do I owe you?"

He waved his hand dismissively, grinning. "Your lovely face is payment enough, but I wouldn't mind if you'd drop dinner by for a while."

Orihime beamed. "I would love to! How many servings should I prepare?"

"Oh, just enough for me would be fine. I find your particular tastes to be one that I find pleasant to have from time to time."

"Will the others be alright?"

"Yes, yes, quite. Don't give them a second thought."

"Alright," she smiled. "I'll be sure to stop by tomorrow unless you want some tonight."

"No, tomorrow will work just fine."

"Okay." She bowed. "See you tomorrow, Kisuke-san."

"Bye, Orihime," he waved as she left.

His smile and joyful mood slowly faded after she left. He looked back at the container the crystal previously occupied. The liquid had now crystallized and cracked. How that girl managed to find herself involved with something like this was beyond his understanding. This crystal was from another world, that was sure, but it was more of another time than another world because he's sensed this energy before, a very long time ago. Either that crystal managed to survive throughout the ages or it has somehow traveled into this particular point in time. He could not begin to guess why, but he'd be able to see what happens now that she'll be close by for a while.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Almost forgot! If there is any confusion on why certain characters are able to do certain things or why they act a certain way... Well, that will all be explained at, like, the very end of this whole thing (not this chapter, but the ENTIRE story). For now, just think of this as...the worlds you know and love with a few differences for circumstances yet to be known. Enjoy~!_**

**_Not All Red Threads #3_**

The previous night, Orihime went home and spent the rest of the day with no problems. She did, however, worry over having the crystal in her possession. She recalled that he, that boy, came to her school looking for something – he called it by a name she didn't really remember. He must have been referring to the crystal, and she had it the whole time. If she had known, she could have saved him the anxiety he must have felt. But...if it was as powerful as Kisuke said, was it her responsibility to give it back? She also played a small role in protecting the world of the living, so maybe she shouldn't give something like that back to a rookie Soul Reaper. Well, no. According to Kisuke, he was not a Soul Reaper and didn't come from the Soul Society. So, if he had the possibility of becoming a problem, should she tell the others? She didn't want them to worry, but if something happened and she gave them no warning, then she would have only aided in their pain, if he was that bad of a person. Still...if he had a good reason for carrying around something so powerful, she didn't want her friends to give him a rough time. Yes, it was a troubling matter.

Whatever the case, she had to think of what to do if she was going to face future troubles, but she could put it off for a while. She awoke this morning filled with a new sense of responsibility and, she was glad to admit, that she was excited because of it. She would be cooking for more than just herself from now on, for a limited time anyway, and that made her feel a certain way. A certain important way. She would have to stop by the store directly after school and make dinner as soon as she got home if she was going to get the food delivered by dinner time, but the only question was what to make. She wanted to try something new, but maybe, for a few nights, she should stick to something that wasn't too experimental. She grinned to herself, firmly decided on what would be good for the new mouths to feed. She would grill some chicken, cover it with red been paste and make some cheesy mashed potatoes.

"Oh!" She squealed herself out of bed. "I hope he doesn't find that too fancy. I could butter some boiled leeks, too!"

* * *

This was not going the way he had intended, and he found himself making a bigger mess. Kagome asked him where he had been this whole time and, of course, he had no choice but to say that he had chased a demon into her world, lost sight of it, and it, miraculously, appeared again after he left her home and knocked him unconscious when he was in the woods. Why was he in the woods? Because he thought he saw that very same demon run in there when he had all the intention in the world of going back to the Feudal Era.

Coming up with this story on the spot was hard enough, but the lame excuse was the most painful to tell – their pitying gazes even worse to take. However, he forced himself to tell every word of it because the truth would have been even more gruesome to own up to. After he let them believe this awful lie, the three of them went back to the Feudal Era to team up with Miroku and Sango. They were glad to see them and even more sympathetic when they heard all that had happened.

"It's amazing you did not die out there," Miroku commented. They were all seated in Kaede's hut as she prepared a meal for them and put together an herbal medicine in case Inuyasha felt a dizzy spell about to come over him.

"He's right," Sango agreed. "It's rare that you get taken out by an opponent like that, and we were nowhere around."

Inuyasha snorted to himself. "I'm just lucky, I guess."

He had been lying on his back, with his arms folded behind his head, away from everyone else. They all assumed he was just taking it easy, but that was far from the case. He knew he was not lucky. He let the shard get away from him twice and now he would have to go back. Even worse, he had to sneak away so that no one would want to tag along to make sure he wouldn't get attacked again. And that was the other thing, how could they believe he would allow himself to get taken out like that? Knocked out by a demon that didn't finish the job?

"Gimmie a break," he mumbled.

"So, tell us, Inuyasha," Kaede said as she stirred the pot filled with stew, "do you think the demon that attacked ye is still roaming in Kagome's time?"

"It could still be there terrorizing people, couldn't it?" Kagome asked.

"I highly doubt that," he mumbled again, this time for people to hear. The only demon he saw there was dead. "It probably came back here because this is the jewel hot spot."

"Speaking of jewel shards," Kagome turned towards him, "where's the jewel you found?"

"What?"

"Remember, you said you found a shard and brought it back here."

He stared at the ceiling. When had he said that? More importantly, why had he said that?

"How is that possible?" Shippo chimed in. "He hasn't been back here for a few days, remember? He must have gotten confused after he fell unconscious."

Kagome thought to herself. "But...he got attacked by the demon after he came to my house and that's when he told me about the jewel. Inuyasha, you did come here, ri-"

"You know what?" Inuyasha jumped to his feet. "All this talking and questioning is making my head hurt. I'm going to go take a walk."

"Don't you want to rest a bit more?" Kagome asked.

"I can rest outside."

The remaining people watched him storm out. There were mixed feelings about his departure, but, they figured, it had something to do with his accident. He wasn't a person of many expressive attributes, not counter to his anger and annoyance, and, surely, if something was bothering him to a point he couldn't bear, he would tell someone. Most likely Kagome, in a falling out argument on trying to help him through this. Still, he did seem to be acting strange.

"Does Inuyasha seem to be more agitated than usual?" Miroku asked.

"How can you tell?" Sango commented, stroking Kirara. "He's always jumping through the many levels of being annoyed."

"Yes, this is true, but something about him seems to be off, don't you think?"

"He is right," Kaede agreed. "It is very unusual for Inuyasha to be defeated by an enemy in the way he described." She turned to Kagome. "Kagome, are you willing to see what is bothering Inuyasha? If anyone can get him to say anything then it is you."

"Um, alright."

"And please bring him back as soon as possible. The stew will be ready in a short while."

***o0o0o0o***

Inuyasha had not gone very far. He figured if he went to where he couldn't smell Kaede's cooking, he would feel like he had a good hold of things. He walked aimlessly for a while before climbing into the highest tree he could find and relaxed on the thickest branch. He looked at the ground, not feeling high up enough even though people on the ground were hard to make out, then set his gaze upwards. Staring up into the light blue sky with the occasional thin, white fluffs leisurely floating by eased him – but only by the smallest degree. It was starting to be high noon, a time that usually produced the least productivity when it came to finding shards and that did not sit well with this sense of dread he felt.

In all honesty, the amount of lying he's been doing lately was starting to get to him. He didn't want to lie, but that was the instinct he kept going with. It wasn't even an impulsive instinct. What he really wanted to keep hidden wasn't that he found a jewel and it got stolen from him – at least, that wasn't a driving force – and he was starting to question all his reasoning up to this point. Did he not want them to know about the girl? If so, why? She didn't appear to be powerful, and she certainly didn't feel that way, so what was the problem? What was _his_ problem? While he was on the topic, why didn't he just force her to tell him where the shard was in the first place? He demanded she tell him, sure, but he knew he was holding back a lot. Why was that? Was she powerful after all and a part of him knew that? That seemed unlikely...but what else could it be?

"What is it about me...?"

He thought and thought. The more he thought, the more he bummed himself out. He couldn't come up with a single reason. He must have been having an off day. Or, a more logical way of thinking, she did something to him when she "healed" him. That had to be it, right? She must have cast something upon him when she closed his wound. That would make sense. That's why he's hesitating so much!

"Inuyasha!"

He looked over into the distance to see Kagome coming his way. She didn't see him, just calling out in hopes that he would hear. It worked. He sighed, wondering if he should go down there and decided he should. He's probably causing a lot of grief for everyone.

He jumped down, as close to her as he could get and walked until she saw him. She called at him again and ran the rest of the way.

"Where did you go?" she asked.

"I told you I was taking a walk."

"Yes...but why did you leave so suddenly?"

"It's nothing, Kagome." He rubbed his head and walked around her. "I just needed a breather."

"You know you can talk to me about anything."

"Yeah, yeah. And when I have a problem, you'll be the first person I go to."

"Inuyasha!"

"What?!" He turned sharply and was greeted by Kagome's saddened glare. Uh oh. What had he done now? Maybe he was too harsh with what he said, but how was that different from any other time? Didn't she know that's just the way he is?

"I get that you want to be the tough guy all time, Inuyasha, but you do have people who care for you when stuff happens. I'm not saying you have to be dependent on us all the time, but don't avoid us."

"I'm not...! It's not like that, okay? I just have things to deal with and I need to think freely." He paused. "Yes, I'll admit something is bothering me, but I've got it taken care of, okay? If it gets any worse, I'll tell you about it."

She walked over to him, studying his face. "Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah. I promise."

She didn't think that was all to what was bothering him, she really wanted to know what was bothering him exactly, but she believed he would turn to her if it got too much for him to handle. They've been through worse than this.

"Alright." She grabbed his hand. "Let's head back then. Kaede is almost finished."

"Uh...Kagome..." He looked down at their hands, suddenly feeling too warm. She squeezed his hand lightly.

"Humor me, will ya?"

He pursed his lips slightly, looking to the side. "Wh-whatever." He returned the pressure. "Let's just go."

These moments truly confused him. He did not mind them – he really liked them – but they always came without warning. They could be arguing or she could be sad for whatever reason and then – BAM. Something is said or done that makes him feel self-conscious. Sometimes it's his fault these moments happen, but now she's causing them, too. Point is, he's never prepared for these feelings.

He pushed the thought aside. What he said earlier was true. The situation at hand was taken care of because he knew what he had to do. He just had to get back the jewel and, now that he knew what was going on, he just had to push past any hesitation he felt because his actions were being influenced by that orange haired wench's

_with the large, grey eyes_

trickery.

* * *

Orihime had been nothing but blissfully pleased with life all day and, because of this attitude, she found that everything seemed to be going well for her. She found out that she passed all her tests from last week – not scoring the highest, but doing exceptionally better than any of her previous tests – and the project that was due by the end of this week was now due next week. If that wasn't good enough, she got discounts on all her ingredients for tonight's meal – she's a frequent shopper at her local market, so the owner only made her pay half the total price. Things hadn't gone this well since they had that week of no homework. That only meant that the week after that was full of so much homework that she found herself getting headaches just from thinking, but it had still been a very good week. When she got home, she had her mind-set on cooking. She placed her school bag on her sofa and brought her groceries to the kitchen.

Cooking didn't take as long as she had hoped – she even made the mashed potatoes herself. By the time she was done with everything, it was barely evening time. She mulled things over as she started putting things into containers. Three bowls were filled with chopped chicken in red bean paste, two medium containers had mashed potatoes, one medium container had the buttered leeks, and a large container was filled with three chicken breasts sitting in red bean paste. She got out a light blue cloth to wrap them all in and stacked the containers on top of each other with the largest at the bottom. After she wrapped it tightly, she went to her sofa, moved her bag, and decided to lie down. She had a lot of time – too much time. Would Kisuke and the others think she was weird if she brought it over now? Did she even pack enough food?

She sighed, listening to the silence. She closed her eyes, not intending to fall asleep but not noticing when she did either. It was okay. She had time for a nap.

***0o0o0o0o0***

When she awoke, she noticed the difference in the lighting. She sat up and looked around. She was home, yes, but when did things become dimmer? It was so light just a few minutes ago. She got up and stretched. Walking into the kitchen, she saw something covered in cloth. She stared at it, turned to get juice out of the refrigerator, then stared at it some more. She ran her hand along the object and found it to be objects. Square containers, it seemed. Why would she leave containers out? They were still very warm so...so... Oh no.

Orihime slammed the juice on the counter and looked at the clock above her oven. It was going on seven o'clock! She had fallen asleep for nearly an hour and a half?! She had food to deliver – food she promised to bring – and she overslept. She quickly picked up the containers, checked her pockets for her key, and exited her apartment.

By the time she could no longer see her apartment complex, the sun was beginning to set. She worried over whether or not Kisuke would still want the food this late, but she did promise to stop by. If he accepted her sincerest apologies, she would just have to make sure to not let this happen again. If he didn't... Well, she'd handle that if it turned out that way.

Once she got to the path leading to Kisuke's house, she was suddenly overcome with a wave of extreme self-consciousness. Up until this point, she had not thought about how little she knew him and how smaller the amount of interactions between the two of them have been. She knew him through Kurosaki-kun and the only time she talked to Kisuke at length was yesterday. Was she really in a position to show up past dinner time and expect him to think it okay? Was she giving herself too wide a reign of flexibility just because they knew a mutual party? She did not mean to be so presumptuous, if that was indeed the way she was coming off to him.

"Maybe I should have called first," she worried out loud. However, she had no means of calling him and, secondly, the most important obstacle, she was already at his door.

She stood there for a minute, allowing her mind to race and judge her on how inconsiderate she was being, before she knocked.

Five minutes passed.

She knocked again. She could hear no movement nor did she notice any lights when she arrived.

"Maybe they've all went to bed." The possibility and the likelihood of it all saddened her. She had taken so long that everyone had gone to bed. Yes, she was indeed at fault here and, not just that, but she felt worse over the fact that she felt some sort of emotional pain over Kisuke not being able to try her cooking. How could she even feel such a way when she was in the wrong?

She bit the inside of her lip and blinked rapidly. If she allowed herself to show what she was truly feeling then it would only prove how selfish she was being. Orihime decided that this was enough for one night and turned to make the journey back home.

"Miss. Inoue?" a drowsy voice called. She stopped a few paces away and turned back to find a yawning Kisuke in the doorway. One arm retracted into his sleeve to scratch his chest lazily. "I didn't expect you so early. Were you waiting long?"

"E-early? Hadn't you gone to bed?"

"I was just taking a nap. I didn't know that you ate dinner before the sun went down."

Orihime smiled, a small one. He wasn't mad at her. In fact, she had been worrying over nothing. She felt like laughing, but the man was already giving her a weird look, tilting his head up ever so slightly so that one eye studied her quizzically.

"Is something funny?" he asked.

"Oh, no," she shook her head bashfully. "I'm just...happy."

"Happy?"

She nodded. "That you're not upset with me."

He stared at her, vaguely wondering if he was still sleeping because this wasn't making any sense to him. "Why would I be upset with you?"

She walked back over to him. "It's a...weird something to explain. Ah! But I've brought you dinner like promised." She held out the cloth-covered containers. "I hope you enjoy it."

"My, my," he grinned, taking it from her. "This definitely looks like a feast. You've outdone yourself."

She laughed, pulling at her cheek. "Well, you know, I try to do my best." She fidgeted in place, waiting to see if he was going to say anything else. He didn't appear to be the one to break the silence anytime soon, however. He seemed intent on drawing this out. "Well, I'll leave you to your dinner then. I'll be back tomorrow with more." She waved as she turned to leave.

"Ah, Miss. Inoue? You haven't already eaten, have you?"

She stopped and turned around. "Uh, well, no. I was running late with the cooking, so I came here before I decided to eat."

"Well, if you don't mind, won't you stay to eat with me?"

Orihime stood there, feeling weightless. She's never eaten with anyone other than her friends and she's never gotten offers from people she didn't know that well. It's not that she would mind, but this was definitely something she didn't expect.

"Um," she pushed hair back from her ear, "o-okay. I don't mind at all."

"Great!" he sang happily. "Follow me then!" He turned into his shop and she timidly walked in after him.

After she shut the door behind her, she noticed that there really was little light in the house. There was only one source coming from the area she knew to be the living room area with the table in the middle. She took off her shoes and walked in there. To her confusion, there were only the boxes she had brought on the table.

"Oh, sorry for wandering off like that," Kisuke said from behind her. She jumped slightly and turned her head in his direction. "I just went to get some sake. I brought some juice for you. I also brought some utensils."

"O-oh. Thank you."

They walked over to the little table and sat down on the pillows surrounding it.

"I hope you don't mind the non-existent extravagance you find yourself in this evening. It's not every day that I have a guest." He put the bottle of saké and a juice pouch on the table.

"Oh, no, this is fine, really. Um...allow me." She pushed herself on to her knees and started to set the table with the food she brought.

Now that she had a chance to lay it all out like this, she started to think she may have brought too much, even if five people were going to be eating.

"That is a lot, isn't it?" Kisuke asked just as she was eyeing the two beverages on the table.

"Ah, yes, well, I know you said not to worry about the others, but I brought enough for them, too."

"Such a sweet girl," he waved his hand in the air, "but I'm afraid they won't be able to taste your cooking for a while."

"O-oh? Why not?"

"Tessai is chaperoning a trip for Ururu and Jinta's school. I think they're going on some kind of nature exploration in the mountains. This is why I've asked you to cook for me for a while. I hope you don't mind the selfish request."

"No, it's alright. I should have listened to you when you told me not to worry about them, but I couldn't help myself from packing extra and...and...ahem." She sat back on her legs. "E-enjoy."

"Yes." He brought his hands together. "Thanks for the food."

Orihime took a fork and one of the containers with the chopped chicken. She watched Kisuke as he took a fork, as well, but was surprised when he took the container with the chicken breasts, stabbed his fork in it, and began eating it off the fork.

"What an interesting combination," he said. "I must say, this is delicious. What's this right here?" He pointed to one of the containers.

"Buttered leeks."

"Hm..." He pointed at another. "And this yellow stuff?"

"Cheesy mashed potatoes."

"Well, now!" he said in approval. "If I would have known you'd make something so fancy, I would have at least paid you."

She laughed softly, feeling flattered. "I could never accept your money when this is something I love to do. I enjoy cooking."

"Well, I can't wait to see what you come up with these next few nights."

Orihime smiled, actually let herself smile, as she watched him eat. None of her friends praised her cooking as much as he was doing. She actually felt proud of herself.

They finished their meal, occasionally engaging in small conversation. Orihime was pleased that he ate enough for four people and, also, a little amazed at how she hadn't even noticed when he would finish one container and would go to another.

"So, tell me, Orihime," he said when they were done, "have you met with your red, cloaked friend lately?"

"Mm," she picked up the juice pouch, "no, I haven't. That's actually something I'm worried about."

"What? Him coming back?"

"Sort of. I mean...I feel bad that I had what he was looking for the whole time, but I also don't know what to do since you said the crystal is so powerful. I mean, I don't think he's a bad guy, but we're not sure where he's from. This could...turn out bad...if he's bad."

"Well, why don't you tell Ichigo? I'm sure he'd step in."

She took a big sip of her juice. "I wouldn't want to bother him if this turns out to be nothing. Besides, if anything bad happens if Inu-kun shows up again, I'm sure I could defend myself...if I needed to."

"Inu-kun?"

She blushed. Had she really said that name out loud? "That's what I call that boy... He has these ears like this." She brought her hands up to her head. "They kind of look like dog ears."

Kisuke laughed, not intending for it to come out as loud and abrupt as it did, but her gestures were hilarious. The explanation was more than enough, but he was surprised she actually showed him what it looked like to her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he hiccupped as he calmed down. "That was very rude of me."

She rubbed the back of her head, smiling. "It's alright, really."

He hummed to himself. "So, how well are you at defending yourself, if you don't mind me asking."

"I'm decent." She held up her arm and flexed her bicep. "Also, my friend Tatsuki has been teaching me some of her fighting techniques."

He laughed. "Well, with a fighting spirit like that, I'm sure you'll be fine. So, what did you do with that crystal? Surely, you keep it well hidden."

"Ah, well," she pulled at the ends of her hair. "i-it's just been sitting on my desk. I haven't given much thought into what to do with it."

"Well, I'm sure the appropriate action will be taken."

There were a few more questions Kisuke asked before they both decided it was getting late and she should hurry home. Orihime packed up all the empty containers and said her goodbyes. She was looking forward to eating with him again because, in all honesty, he was good company. At first, it was awkward, but she soon felt very comfortable with him – almost like he was her kin.

Kisuke walked her to the door, all the while they seemed to be bonding like brother and sister. He watched as Orihime made her way home then closed the door. He stood in the near darkness of the entrance staring down at the doorknob. She seemed to be alright, but he knew things would start picking up momentum very soon. There was also something different about her spiritual pressure. It seemed...a bit stronger than yesterday. What could she have done within that time to make it rise? Or, maybe, he had just not been paying attention. Still...he hoped to study her and the effects of that crystal a little more.

***o0o0o0o0o***

Orihime arrived home a few minutes after the streetlights came on. She was humming to herself the whole way and even stopped to talk to one of the stray dogs she always sees. Today really had been a good day. She wondered what Kisuke did for breakfast and lunch if everyone was gone, but never got around to asking him. Maybe, she hoped, she could talk with him about bringing him food at those times, when possible. She may not admit it, but she was growing an attachment to him. Living on her own was not always a pleasant experience, so the fact that he had asked her to stay made her feel at home. She wanted to feel like that more often.

When she was settled inside her apartment, she walked over to the kitchen. She began to put away the leftovers. She would have enough for her own breakfast and lunch, but not enough for the both of them for dinner. Maybe she should start buying in bulk so she wouldn't have to stop by the store every day.

After she was done, she went into her room and looked around. She had no real motivation to work on her project tonight, so maybe she should just go to bed. There was nothing else to be done and she would get plenty of sleep if she hurried with her bath now.

"Alright," she agreed. "Bed it is"

She took out her hairpins and walked over to her desk, looking for a scrunchie. She set them down, picked up a blue scrunchie, and began pulling her hair back. As she did so, her eyes wandered to the contents of her desk and landed on the crystal, next to her pins. She dropped her hands and picked up the crystal and one pin. She looked between them and noticed how they complimented each other, the gleam of the plastic and the natural shine of the crystal seemed to be fated to meet. They would probably look really outstanding if the crystal was a glittery powder she could sprinkled on the clip.

"Or just...stick it in the middle somehow."

She pushed one pointy end in the center of her clip and applied mild pressure. She wasn't sure if they would look good if it worked – a sharp crystal protruding from a pin. If she were to wear it, it'd look like she had a splinter coming out the side of her head. Maybe the idea was better in theory. There's no way she'd actually smash it into dust either.

She intended to separate the two, but the crystal was stuck all of a sudden. Had the pointy part lodged itself in the pin? She pulled harder, carefully, but it wouldn't come out. She brought it up to eye level, crystal poking in the air. The pointy part didn't seem to be in the clip at all, it was standing on it. Then, she noticed, it began to sink into it, almost as if it were melting. Orihime stared in amazement, until it was gone. Speechless, she held it in front of her face. The blue parts on the clip glowed brightly and, when the light settled, had thin, pink needle-like lines going through each blue section. The center was now pink with a small point sticking out.

"Wh...what-?"

Banging came from beyond her room. Her head snapped in the direction of the sound. Her heart was already beating from the previous occurrence and now this. Her breathing picked up. She looked at her transformed hairpin and the hallway. Quickly, she put the pin in her hair and rushed towards the living room door where the banging came again. She opened it, not bothering to check who it was.

She was speechless once again.

* * *

He would have broke the door down if he was certain this was the right door. He had no trouble following her scent this time, but it became hard to keep track once he got to this level of the building. The scent was coming from all over, but was a bit stronger once he got to this floor. He banged on it, hoping this was the right one. No one came, but he was certain someone was inside, so he banged again. This time, he heard movement inside, clumsy movement, then the knob started to turn.

And there she was.

The wretch who stole his jewel and put him in this mess in the first place. She was staring at him with those unbelievably wide, grey eyes. Eyes that looked innocent, sure, but that was just an act. She was surprised that he found her and he knew that. She thought she had gotten away with what she did, yet, here he is to prove her wrong. She opened her mouth to say something, but he wouldn't allow it.

"You know why I'm here, so just hand over the jewel shard."

* * *

She heard him, heard him perfectly, but she hadn't yet come to terms with his presence. She knew he would come back, but she had not decided what to do if things turned bad. She had not considered that he would show up at her apartment – and at night. Did that, in itself, make him a bad guy? And then he demanded for a jewel shard. Jewel shard?

"Oh!" She said once she realized his meaning. "I...I can't do that."

He smirked. "I knew you wouldn't make this easy. I'll just tear this whole damn place apart until I find it." He pushed past her to get inside. She turned, closing the door and pressed her back against it.

"Um, about tha-"

"I can feel it close by." He flung the cushions on her sofa to the floor. "I don't have to hurt you, so you should just hand it over."

"L-like I said, I can't do that. You see, I-"

"Why the hell not?!" He spun to face her. "You think just 'cause you're a girl, I won't kill you?"

She flinched. "Th...that's not what I mean. See, it-"

"Then where the hell is it?!"

She waited, finding talking to be pointless. He didn't say anything, just glared at her with those eyes – those intense, golden eyes.

"You got five seconds before I start slashing you to bits, lady." He placed a hand on his sword. Her heart began to pound. She only had one pin on and he seemed furious. Did that make him bad or did the crystal mean a lot to him? Slowly, her hand came up and pointed at the side of her head.

"H-here."

"'Here'? Is that where you want me to cut you first?"

"N-no! Th-the crystal. I-it went into my hairpin somehow."

* * *

He was dumbstruck. She already fused it with something? No, of course she already fused it with something! Is that why her scent became hard to find just awhile ago? Does that mean she _just_ did it? If he had gotten here a few seconds earlier, he could have had it?!

"You've gotta be kidding me!" he yelled.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen! I'd give it back if I knew how!"

"If you wanna give it back so bad then break that stupid thing on your head already!"

* * *

Her heart burst with adrenaline. Break it? Break her hairpin? Even if that did help, how could she possibly do such a thing? Her brother gave her these, so there was no way she could just break them.

"I...I can't do that. These...these mean a lot to me. Maybe I-"

"Argh! I don't have time for your games! I can break those damn things myself!"

He began to storm over to her. Orihime panicked and ran forward, ducking under his arm to retreat to the hallway. The boy yelled in protest and she could hear him running after her.

"I'm tired of this!" His hand came down on her shoulder and forced her to spin around.

"No, wait!" Instinctively, her hand came up to protect her clip. Upon doing so, she felt a sensation from under her fingertips. She moved her fingers away, away from the sensation that was completely different from what she ever felt from the clips. A large blast, a pink light rather than a yellow one, shot from the side of her head and into the right side of the boy's shoulder.

They both froze, grey and gold eyes alike going wide. His grip on her tightened, nails digging into her skin. She cringed, but couldn't move more than a few inches. She forced her eyes to move to the new hole in him and her stomach dropped. Did she shoot through his heart?

A gurgling sound came from the boy. His eyes became dull, eyelids drooping. His grip on her softened completely and his body no longer seemed to be standing on its own. Orihime watched in horror as he coughed up blood, falling to his knees, head limp against her thighs. She stared down at the top of his head. Her breathing picked up to a point where she was becoming light-headed.

"N...no." Her body began to tremble, eyes swelling with tears. What had happened? Why did her clip fire energy like that? She hadn't even said anything. Now this boy is...this boy is...


	4. Chapter 4

**_I would just like to say...if you ever get the chance to walk through the woods, take that chance. Before I moved, I did that twice (my friend owns a lot of land, so yeah) and it was just beautiful. I felt like I was in a video game or an anime. I dunno. That's just me. Maybe that's bad advice... Okay, if you're gonna do what I just advised, make sure you know these woods or the person you're going with knows the paths and such. Also, make sure no jail escapees have been spotted or something. You know what? Now I'm nervous. Don't go walking in the woods, kids._**

**_Also, please do keep in mind, these are the Bleach and Inuyasha worlds we all know and love with a slight twist._**

**_Not All Red Threads #4_**

His first mistake was going into her house. That was an impulsive decision, on his part. It was stupid, and he knew it was wrong once his feet started to move, but it was impulsive nonetheless. There was something about her eyes that made them hard to look at. When he looked at them, right at them, it did something to him he couldn't explain; looking at those eyes struck a chord that was so deep within him that he forced back every tremor that came his way. There was no way he could force himself to look at them long enough to find out what it was about those shimmering, grey eyes that gave him chills.

The next hindering factor, but not a mistake, was the result of his first mistake. When he pushed past her to get into her house, he was overcome by her scent. He'd been following a hint of this scent and he now realized that he wasn't just tracking her down. No, in the back of his mind, he knew, he was being pulled in by the tantalizing smell he only had a memory of from the other day. Of course, he would not think about this in depth. He must have been ignoring it when she opened the door, but now it was all around – that sweet, intoxicating scent. She must have made some type of potion, right? She knew he would be coming, so she made sure she would stop him, right? That's what he convinced himself even though he had thoroughly smelled her body, but he needed a reason to justify his actions. Why else would he feel light-headed? Why else would everything blur for a moment?

His second mistake was looking at her eyes again. He thought he was doing good, he had yelled at her and felt himself getting a hold on his mind again. Then he turned around to glare at her, he felt he could do that much.

He was wrong, dead wrong.

He looked into those orbs and felt he was being drawn into them. For a moment, he felt himself about to shut down and just stare into those silver pools and fully accept any attack she inflicted on him. He thought things, many things – things that were highly out of place considering all that was going on. He was convinced she was a witch of sorts and her foolishness was pissing him off. He had to kill her. No matter how all this ended, jewel shard or not, he had to kill her because he's never felt more compelled to do whatever anyone wanted until this very moment.

His last mistake, the one he felt he shouldn't have failed, was his hesitation. When she ran forward, coming towards him, he hesitated. He wasn't scared and he wasn't being defensive. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, it all happened so fast, but he knew that was a big mistake. That's why he acted impulsively, again. He chased her instead of drawing his sword. He should have taken her down, but he could only think of righting his wrong.

He had to catch her.

He did catch her, but then she did that.

He wasn't sure what she did, but he knew she had fired something at him and it went right through him. His heart was gone, he knew that, and all at once breathing was something he couldn't do. All he could hear was water, like a waterfall, and all he could feel was that pain. That raw, sickening pain as if he were doused in acid and then set on fire. He would gladly get stabbed through the stomach a thousand times if he didn't have to feel this ever again.

The last thing he remembers are those eyes, now shimmering like polished silver or a small pond in the moonlight, and how he would have done anything for them.

For those beautiful eyes.

* * *

She had not moved for thirty, drawn out seconds. She was sure she was going to faint or wake up with a bad headache. She would have been willing to deal with a migraine if it meant this was all a horrible, twisted nightmare. Hesitantly, she looked down. She saw the top of his head, ears not as high up as they usually were. Why was he just sitting there? Yes...yes, she hurt him, but that was the thing. _She_ hurt him. She was not capable of hurting people as badly as she would hope – and she did not wish to hurt people at all. So...again, why was he just sitting there? How badly could he be hurt?

She then noticed the sensation running down her legs, more on her right thigh, trickling down. Her eyes wandered to the outskirts of the boy's feet – dark liquid was starting to pool around him. His blood, the hot liquid, was pooling around her own feet.

"No," she whispered, breath gone.

Suddenly, the weight of his body was becoming more than she could bear; she could feel herself struggling to keep her balance, but the fight seemed to be coming from a different world. Her eyes saw his motionless body through clouded, tunnel vision. Her senses were sending her messages through fried nerves and broken passage ways. Her mind, what she needed most at the moment, was miles away where nothing seemed to run through rational logic.

She suddenly snapped back to reality – every part of her being running on overdrive. With a pounding heart and breathing that was beyond her control, she knew she had to help him. She was a healer, that was her thing, so she had to do something for him. She slowly bent down, ears ringing, mind fogging to a point where she kept questioning this reality, and placed her hands on the boy's shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry for hurting you," her voice shook uncontrollably, "b-b-but I-I can help you if you would just...just..."

She managed to get him off of her only to have his head loll back, facing upwards. Her stomach tightened and produced bile that made her want to tear out her innards. His mouth had ceased its spewing of blood and had settled to a steady trickle of what remained. She stared into his eyes. They were wide and dim, no glow whatsoever, no glimmer of that irritation he seemed to have, no burning fire of rage she saw so clearly tonight, no spark of surprise she saw only moments ago – lifeless.

All at once, emotions of varying degrees rushed into her. She screamed, strength draining from her as her trembling hands tried to push him away from her completely. Her hands kept slipping from his shoulders and, in her failed, feverish attempts, he slipped past them and came crashing back into her thighs. Her knees buckled instantly and she fell backwards, landing on her bottom and continued to fall on her back after being shocked by the impact. She was sent into a new wave of terror when she realized his head was now resting on her knees. She kicked her legs rapidly, weakly, and struggled to pull herself up and away from the body. She scooted back a few feet, the head of the body landing with a thud, and stared wide-eyed.

She...she had to help him. She's caused him to be... She caused his... She didn't mean to do this. She had no idea this would happen. All she wanted to do was protect one of the few things she had of her brother's, so why had this happened? Why had it fired in such a way and right at his heart? His...heart...

Orihime, unknowingly, made a low, continuous noise. It was a broken sound, almost as if she were trying to hum with her mouth open. Her mind kept racing, but it was not on any course. Could she heal him? She's never been in this kind of situation. She's never caused this kind of situation and now she had to find a way to fix it, but there was no way she could. The power needed to heal him was years off from what she could currently do, she was told that. She...she was told...

That time when she first met this boy... Shun'ō said that she couldn't heal him if his body was too decomposed to heal. Back then, the worrying factor was that goop on him, but now there was nothing to aid in the accelerating process of any breakdown that might be taking place. Was there still time? Did she have a chance? She reached for her hair clip, filled with a sense of relief that made her feel insane, but stopped suddenly. What if something shoots out again? There was still a clip on her desk. Would that work? She brought her hand down and tried standing up, but her feet kept slipping on the pool of blood. Orihime tried desperately, becoming distressed and more fearful, to stand, but nothing seemed to work.

"I need help." She began to cry. "I really need help!"

She felt it again, the sensation that killed the boy. Instinctively, she tried to stop whatever was about to happen – she had to take it off or block it. Again, her fingers failed to do what she wanted them to and the power she felt about to make itself known was released. She flinched, screaming when she saw the light she was unaccustomed to.

"Well, that's a very new resp-! Orihime! What happened to you?!"

Orihime stared at the little being floating in front of her face. It had blond hair that flowed past its shoulders with the right side pinned back in a zigzag design. It was wearing back, tight jeans (which, she figured, based on what she's seen before, was really just part of its legs, in a sense) with a red spiral going up each leg. It also had a red poncho of sorts with orange stripes fanning from the shoulders – but, upon further inspection, this poncho appeared to be an oversized half shirt with long sleeves, which extended past its hands – that covered a black shirt. No, she's never seen this being before, but it sounded a lot like...

"Shun'ō?"

"Don't you recognize me?!" He seemed to get a glimpse of his new appearance and gave himself a quick look over. "What? So...that feeling was...?" He shook his head. "Never mind that! What happened to you?! You're covered in blood!"

She gasped. "Blood! Th-that boy from the other day!" She pointed to the body. "I-!"

"Dear lord!" Shun'ō gasped. "Orihime, what-"

"I killed him!" she cried.

He shot his head back to her. "You? _You_ did this?"

"It was an accident! My clip, it blasted all of a sudden-! He wasn't going to hurt me-! I-I just wanted to protect-!"

"Orihime, please calm down!" He looked at her, wanting to ease her, but he had trouble easing himself. She said she killed him, but that couldn't be possible. Orihime refuses to hurt anyone and she's claiming she _killed_ this boy? A boy, she claims, that wasn't going to hurt her? And the blood... There was so much of it. Her shirt was covered, there were splatters on her face, and her legs were painted with it. The boy himself was surrounded, drenched. Then there was the hole through his chest – right through his heart. She...couldn't have...but she's covered... And he was shot in a place that would have obviously resulted in certain death.

He tried to wrap his mind through every scenario possible, but her confession kept popping back up. She killed him... _She_ killed _him_?

"Orihime," he said slowly, forcing himself to realize this was still the girl he was loyal to, "I know there must be a reason for all of this, and I know there's more to this than what I can see. I also know that you called me here. You want to heal him, right?"

"Y-yes!" She nodded in a way that made it look like her head was loosely attached to her neck. "I need you and Ayame to-!"

"It's okay," he said soothingly. "I can do this on my own."

"What? No, this is serious! We're running out of time and-!"

"Trust me." He smiled softly. "Just...promise to tell me all that happened afterwards."

Orihime watched in confusion and growing worry over the time as Shun'ō floated above the body.

The following events are something she could never explain.

This new version of half her healing capabilities closed his eyes, extending his arms down and breathing evenly. He began to float upward and, somehow, the body floated up with him. The body was slumped over, back arching towards the ceiling, but slowly started to curl until it was in an upright position. Orihime cringed slightly, unbeknownst to her, at the sight of those dim, lifeless eyes and the hole in his chest, taking little notice of the bright, transparent pink light that illuminated from her transformed fairy – and she almost missed the yellow veil that was engulfing the body. Her body jerked once she realized Shun'ō's hair steadily grew and cocooned itself around the body, all the while the pink light remained shining. Shun'ō breathed in again and exhaled evenly.

"Riko-tekina yōkyū: Return this soul."

For a moment, the light that surrounded them became unbearably blinding, but Orihime could not feel her eyes squint or look away. She was mesmerized by the events taking place and her senses were still having a hard time recovering from what she had done. After it dimmed, and after her sight could focus without seeing splotches here and there, she managed to see the body floating back on the floor so that the boy was lying on his back, away from the puddle he had rested in, and Shun'ō's hair was retracting.

"Okay, Orihime," he said calmly while opening his eyes, "you need to seal the soul so that it will settle."

Her heart constricted tightly. She didn't know what he was asking of her. "I...I..."

"It's okay." He floated over to her. "I'll walk you through it, but we mustn't waste time. Please, extend your hand."

She didn't understand what happened or what was going to happen, but she did as she was told without missing a beat. Shun'ō floated over her palm and slowly descended, sinking into it like if it were water. She panicked, but watched in awe. Her hand began to pulse pink and yellow lights and there was a pressure, a type of numb throbbing, that was now her entire hand.

"Alright Orihime," Shun'ō's disembodied voice said, "I know this is all coming at you at once, but please do as I say. I need you to walk over to him."

"O-okay..." She quickly crawled over to the body on her knees and one hand. She was truly amazed. Other than the blood on the floor, the body itself had no blood on him and the spot on his clothes where the blast hit was repaired. "He...he's-"

"Running out of time. Pull back his clothing."

She blushed, but did so – surely there was a reason for this and she had to be quick. She saw that his chest, where he was originally wounded, was also repaired – there was no hole to speak of – but there was a white light, about the size of a baseball, glowing weakly.

"What you're looking at is his soul. I've called it back, but it is out of place. It knows that its owner has died and it is trying to return to the process of leaving the world of the living. You need to seal it, Orihime. Draw a circle around that light with your index finger and an X through that circle."

"G-got it." She quickly, meticulously, did as she was instructed. What she drew was able to be seen, outlined thickly in black.

"Now, in the four sections that have been made within the circle, draw smaller circles with dots inside of them. The four sections are equivalent to the four worlds a spirit can pass through and, as you know, it signifies death as well. The circle within these sections represent the body and the dots are the souls. Depending on which world, we are either asking for the soul back or for the soul to enter."

"Right," she said softly. She made the circles with the dots as he explained the reason to her.

"Finally, do you remember what I said earlier while I had him wrapped up?"

"U-um..." She thought hard. "Y-yes!"

"I need you to say that right now, word for word. Do you think you can do that?"

"I can," she said shakily, confidently.

Furrowing her eyebrows and slumping closer to the ground, she thought and thought to make sure she got this right. She had been listening and it had not been that long ago, so she knew the words were still with her. She had to do this. For _him_. If she had to never look at those eyes again, so be it, but she wanted her last memory of them to not be that of shock, confusion, and accusation.

"R-riko-tekina yōkyū," she began, throat tightening, eyes stinging, "Return this soul!"

Immediately, the light that was supposedly his soul shone brightly and the traces of what she drew dissolved. There was an undeniable thump that she felt come not only from the body under her fingers, but from her own. The boy's chest rose then, taking in a deep breath, and settled into easy breathing. Orihime stared, no real emotion attached that she could identify on the spot. He was breathing again.

She felt his heartbeat.

He was alive.

"He's alive," she whispered. She stared at the rise and fall of his chest. A small smile began to creep upon her lips. "He's alive."

"It appears so." Shun'ō resurfaced from Orihime's hand, causing her to jerk her hand open and face it towards the ceiling. "Orihime, now that..." He was taken aback by the tears streaming down her face and the smile that was present.

"Th-thank you, Shun'ō." Her smile slipped and she began to sob. "Thank you so much!" She grabbed him, hugging him close to her face.

"O-Orihime!" He blushed, not expecting to be this contact. "Th-there's no need to thank me. I-I was just doing what I ought to."

"But i-if it w-weren't for you... I-if it weren't for you...!"

"Really, Orihime, you shouldn't thank me just yet. We have sealed the soul, but there is a chance that it may not latch on exactly how it's suppose to. If that happens, the balance between soul and body will become unstable and it will force its way out."

"So...s-so he may not be...?"

"It is a possibility. We have to see and wait."

Orihime was silent, but her core was shaking. This was her fault. This was all her fault.

She released him. He faltered in the air, not expecting the sudden freedom and looked at Orihime who was now hunched over on the now revived boy's chest; she was sobbing uncontrollably, talking to the unconscious being.

"I-I'm so sorry I did this to you! I didn't mean to hurt you, and I'm sorry for doing all of this! Please be okay... Please wake up... Please don't die!"

Shun'ō watched with a heavy heart and a heavy mind at the scene before him. He must admit, he had his doubts about her even as he healed the boy she claimed to have killed, but now he felt angry at himself for thinking poorly of her. If she had not had a reason to kill him – had done it for no good reason – she would not be like this, would she? No, of course not. There was no way she would kill senselessly in the first place. Still...none of this made sense.

First, his appearance and this new source of energy he felt was overwhelming enough. He, and the rest of his companions, had felt the change a while ago, but they could not place it; there was no telling where it came from or what had happened. After the feeling came, he fell unconscious and he was sure the others did as well. Then he hears – no. He _sensed_ Orihime calling for help and he had jumped into action before he was fully conscious again. As if this was not all enough, he had no idea where the knowledge to do all he did and instructed to do came from – he just knew. It all came to him as soon as he thought to do anything and he went with it. Why, though?

He wanted to discuss this with Orihime, and about what happened before all of this, but he couldn't will himself to do it now. Not when she's like this.

"Another time then," he said to himself, returning back to her hair clip.

* * *

Inuyasha was sure that he had been somewhere before this darkness consumed him again, but he could not remember where. He had been in a closed space, darkness, journeying through another space, then darkness again. Where these spaces were exactly, he could not recall at the moment. All he knew was that he felt heavy, yet, light at the same time, and he couldn't find the will to _want_ to move. He was at peace, sort of, and there was nothing to make him want to remember, or figure out, why he was in a state such as this. However, there was a problem with the darkness, if he allowed himself to be like this for too long. Without a doubt, he would remember that time of his life – when he was a child.

He wasn't use to being outcasted then. Kids his age, even the adults, were so cruel to him and he never knew why – never understood why no one wanted him around. He had tried his best to make friends and be as kind as possible, but nothing seemed to work. And then...there was the time he saw his mother cry. He had asked her what a word was that someone had called him, a half-breed, and she had been full of such sorrow. He didn't understand that either, he didn't understand a lot of things then, but that's when the anger in him had started to grow. She wouldn't have cried if he hadn't asked her, and he wouldn't have asked her if people had not called him that. It must have been something derogatory and it only added to the confusion he felt for people hating him so much. After that, he adopted the coarse, cynical attitude he has today. He stopped caring why people felt the way they did and, instead, gave them reasons to hate him, if that's what they wanted so damn much.

It was years later before he found someone who actually treated him like someone normal, and, yes, he found himself falling in love for the first time, but nothing ever came of it. Things happened to where they couldn't be together and, long story short, she died while he was...stuck in time, so to speak. Things were okay now, the people he knew were accepting of him, but sometimes...certain people made him feel like he should be different – like being who he was wasn't good enough. He wanted to feel like he was good enough for someone – like how he wanted to be good enough for _her_ all those years ago – but he wanted to be just the way he was. No changing. Just him.

_"I'm so sorry..."_

Sorry... Yeah, he was too. It was starting to occur to him that he wasn't good at some things, like, saying what he actually felt. Or listening to what he really wanted to do, like, finding

_that girl with the eyes_

the jewel shards effectively.

_"...I didn't mean to hurt you..."_

His thoughts let those words echo. He was really letting his mind wander all of a sudden. If the pressure of life was finally cracking the his sanity, he wished it didn't happen when he was starting to feel like there was a chance to rest. He didn't want to – didn't _need_ to – have a heart to heart with himself.

_"Please be okay."_

That voice... He became ashamed, ashamed at how eased he became. Why was he thinking of that voice? Why hadn't he noticed sooner that he was attaching these apologetic words to that girl? Why...

_"Please don't die."_

...did he want to hear these words from her? There would be no reason for her to say them and there should be no reason for these words to get to him like they were. He really must be stressed.

* * *

The fact that the next day managed to come was nothing short of a miracle to Orihime. After she had calmed herself down last night, she convinced herself that the boy would need a more suitable place to rest than her floor. She had considered putting him on her sofa, but found that to be insulting in every way possible, considering all that had happened. She struggled to get him to her bed – she had not wanted the help of her fairies because they were in an unpredictable state all of a sudden – but she had somehow managed to get him there all by herself. A part of her had expected him to be awakened by her sloppy efforts at preventing his body to come in contact with the blood, which she did, but he remained asleep. However, maybe unconscious was a more suitable term.

Next, she found herself cleaning up the blood from the hallway floor. There was so much of it and she knew it would be a strenuous process; however, she trudged through two hours of scrubbing and soaking with what limited cleaning products she had. For the most part, her actions were on auto-pilot. She needed a distraction from her thoughts, but this did nothing to help. She was washing away the blood she had caused to be shed and the fact that no one knew of what heinous act she committed made her feel like nothing more than a murderer covering her tracks. If she did not have the ability to heal, she would still be a wreck on the floor. Ultimately, she would have had to turn herself in to some sort of authority establishment.

She was very grateful for her abilities, but she also felt like she did not deserve to be so lucky – it was as if she was getting the easy way out. She had taken a life, but she could mask that fact simply because her abilities allowed her to do so. Where was the justice in that? How is it possible that a more severe punishment was not in order? Whatever the case, she knew she had to atone for it somehow, some day.

After she got her hallway clean – clean to a point where she could almost not tell where the stains had been, but, of course, she knew what she was looking for – she took a long, hot bath. Her school uniform, she vaguely noticed, was far too covered in blood for her cleaning abilities to recover, but that was the least of her worries. She knew she wouldn't attempt to clean them and there was no way she would keep them, so she'd have to handle it later. She had scrubbed herself clean three times and washed her hair until she could no longer stand to touch it. After that, she remained in the bath for little over an hour – replacing the water twice.

She had slept – or, more accurately, lied – on the sofa for the remainder of the night. Occasionally, she found herself timidly checking on the boy to make sure he was breathing. Each time this was confirmed, she felt more grateful than the previous time, but the fact that he was not waking up brought her to tears. She would give anything if he were to make it through this.

All these events has brought her to her current situation. She left for school early, arriving twenty minutes before anyone else, in her winter gym uniform she had brought home some time ago. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She didn't not put in her hair clips for obvious safety reasons and had the feeling she forgot quite a deal of things at home, but could not force herself to think of what they were.

When she left, the boy was still resting, breathing evenly; nothing appeared to be wrong with him physically. But...she wondered if he was truly healed. The method that was used to heal him...she had never seen or heard of it before. How did it work? How could she be sure that it could work? Yes, his wound was gone, but he had definitely died. His soul had to be brought back...but what all did that mean? How did that work? Was that even the best option? She didn't know. She didn't know who she could turn to so she could get a better understanding of things. Kurosaki-kun had been an option, but there was no way she could look him in the eyes and tell him what she had done and how she cleaned up the blood like a criminal. Rukia-chan had also been an option, but she did not like the cowardice that went with the decision. How she wished...she could have a little help.

"Orihime!"

Her head jerked upward. She found herself squatting on the floor with her back to the wall while holding her head in her hands. She had been wandering the halls when, she supposed, her thoughts got the best of her to a point that she couldn't stand to walk. She looked down the hall to see Tatsuki running towards her.

"Ah," she said, throat dry. "Morning, Tatsuki."

"Don't give me that!" she scolded once she reached her. "Where have you been?!"

"Wh...? I've...been at school."

"Can you imagine my surprise when Ritsko, the preppy girl in charge of the supply closet, comes running up to me as soon as I get onto school property and tells me you showed up to school in your gym uniform looking like something terrible has happened to you? I almost didn't listen to her, but I found it odd that you would be here before _she_ got here, so I go looking for you and you weren't in any of the places you usually are in the mornings. So, what do I do, Orihime? I go running around the whole school looking for you, certain that something has happened, and I find you in this secluded area, on the floor, grabbing onto your head. Do you have any idea what was going through my mind? Do you have any idea what's going through my mind?"

Orihime had a hard time following her friend's rant. Not only was her friend hyped up on adrenaline, which caused her speech to be rushed, but the lack of sleep was starting to release its effects.

"Ah... I'm...I'm sorry."

Tatsuki sighed harshly, calming her breath. "You know I'm looking for something a little more than that, but I'm just glad you're not hurt. What are you doing all the way over here? Where's your uniform? And your clips. What's going on with you?"

Orihime stared up at her dark haired friend. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she needed help with, but she didn't know where to start. How could she explain that she had unknowingly gotten herself tangled up with that boy from the other day? How could she go on to explain how, in the course of one night, she had killed that very same boy and brought him back to life? Well, she really didn't do it, the bringing him back to life part, but that was something else she didn't know how to explain. No, she couldn't explain any of it.

Instead, she did what she knew how to do best. She smiled, ignoring the fact that it felt extremely out of place, and looked her friend in the eyes. She forced her own eyes to shine with what last bit of gleam they had left.

"Everything's just wonderful."

And with that said, Orihime fell over.


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: I've been doing a lot of InuHime fan art because of this story. I wish I could show you guys. I also wish I could better fight these urges to post completely different stories. It's rather distracting. Ah, and if this starts to go down the pooper, do inform me so I can take a break and re-evaluate things._**

**_Personally, I like reading FanFiction stories on mobile because of the way it looks. Give it a try, if it tickles you to do so._**

**_Not All Red Threads #5_**

Tatsuki Arisawa was a girl that preferred to keep certain things to herself for as long as possible. She had no real reason behind it other than the fact she had always been this way, and it was only to her advantage to continue as such. Ironically, the things she kept to herself never seemed to be about _herself_, but about those around her. For example, she knew that Mizuiro Kojima was not the kind-hearted boy that everyone took him for. He was kind, yes, but that was all an act, and she also knew that this act meant no harm to anyone, which is why she honestly didn't care to notice. However, that boy had some problems that she was not eager to get herself involved with. She also knew that Keigo Asano was not as deathly annoying as he made himself out to be, but he was too oblivious to the mannerisms of his friends for her to feel comfortable to be around him. In truth, she felt sort of bad that he was living with a childlike ignorance.

Then there was Rukia Kuchiki... If she were to be honest, she didn't know much about her, so the judgments she placed on the fairly new student were a bit clouded. Tatsuki didn't usually dislike a person on the behalf of others, but she couldn't help feeling that Rukia's presence was getting in the way of Orihime's happiness with Ichigo. Although, she is waiting for the day that Orihime opens her eyes and realizes she can do so much better than that oblivious idiot.

Honestly, Tatsuki didn't hate Rukia; she was just a bit bothered by how much time she spent with Ichigo when she was suppose to be a _new _student. Ichigo wasn't the 'Welcoming Party' type, so how had she managed to get so close to him? Not only that, how was she able to bring out the expressive person he turned into after her arrival?

How much it bothered Orihime, she wasn't sure, but she knew it must bother her a _little. _That's all it took for Tatsuki to be irritated with the new friendship. With that being said, she knew that Rukia and Ichigo were hiding something more than the mysterious reason behind their frequent time together – and it didn't feel like a secret relationship.

It was because of this kind of hidden knowledge she was gifted to have that caused her to be so concerned this morning. She knew that Ritsko Mikikani had a habit of stalking Orihime around the school – whether or not there was any underlying meaning to this, she did not yet know – so this is where the worry began. If she did not know this about Ritsko, she probably would have ignored the frantic girl's claims, but that was not the only reason she was worrying. Like Ichigo and Rukia, she knew Orihime was hiding things, too.

They all had this weird feel about them, some kind of power. There was an incident, not too far back, when the three of them, plus Chad and Uryuu, were absent from school for quite some time and, when they came back, they were...different. It was like they all skipped school to go on some resort to get to know each other. It was very puzzling, it bugged the hell out of her, but she did not inquire too much about it. She always put the thought out of her mind, but last night she felt a surge of that chilling energy come from Orihime's part of town – only it felt a bit different. Of course, she had no way to prove what she felt was real and it came and went twice. The first time, it felt like two different energies coming together and then suddenly vanished. The second time, the newly formed energy was greater, but she could vaguely sense it – like it was being masked.

Yes, she expected the worst when she went looking for her friend, and the fact that she had found her in one piece relieved her to the point of anger. Orihime was alright – something was obviously wrong with her, but nothing had happened to her. To have all those ugly, horrific thoughts swirl around her head the morning after that energy appeared put her out of her wits. She did not wish for something bad to happen to her, but she would have felt justified with her crazy notions if something did.

Then she had asked her, "What's wrong with you?"

To which she replied, with the most radiant smile she had seen, "Everything's just wonderful."

But then...she collapsed, right in front of her.

"Orihime?" Tatsuki approached her fallen friend, kneeling next to her while trying to keep her emotions in check. She stared at her face – her pale face. She strained to see if any color was there, but her emotions were starting to mess with her eyes because she was getting whiter the harder she focused. "O-Orihime!"

She began to panic and she didn't know why. She began to blame so many people, and she had no idea why. There was no movement from the girl who was usually so high-strung, she didn't know what to do. Everything on the inside, however, was in so much chaos that she could feel the seams of her very being about to break and there was nothing she could do but wait for it to happen.

"Tatsuki?"

She turned, eyes brimming with tears. She had tried to keep her emotions in, but something was wrong with her friend, the one she had sworn to protect, and she knew it was from the secrets she was keeping from her. Now, she had to deal with the sight of _him, _and all she could see were secrets.

***o0o0o0o0o0o***

Orihime emerged from the darkness that took her, but she remained lying with her eyes closed. She needed that. Passing out, she needed that. Not only was she able to rest, but she was unable to think, which, it seemed, was all she needed. Now, things were coming together for her. Last night, she killed someone, yes, but it was an accident. It was far from a justification, but it was the truth. It was a blessing that she was able to restore life back to him and, regardless of what was happening, she had to believe he would wake up. In fact, she knew he would wake up. She's seen his fighting spirit more than once and there was no way he wasn't going to recover from this. She wanted to laugh at that. She had so much confidence in this stranger.

"I don't even know his name," she mumbled.

"Orihime?"

Her eyes flashed open. She was in a well lit room, and there was a curved railing just below her field of vision. She sat up, aware that she was on a cushioned surface, and turned her head to find Tatsuki sitting beside her on a blue chair the resembled a cup that had been cut in half.

"Oh, hi," Orihime greeted, confused. She quickly scanned the room and immediately felt guilty. She was in the infirmary. Of course she was. She had fainted right in front of her friend when the only thing wrong with her was the fact that she had gotten no sleep and had put her mind under a great deal of stress all night.

"Are you kidding?" Tatsuki sighed, putting her face in her hands. "You're going to keep giving me these blank looks like nothing is wrong?"

"U-um," her hands went into motion, waving lamely in the air, "I-I know this looks bad, but-but it's really not as big as it seems. I just-"

"Just what, Orihime?!" Tatsuki exploded. She stood up, hands slamming down to her sides. "First you come to school and wander off by yourself and then you pass out right in front of me! Do you have any idea how pale you were?! Do you have any idea what I was thinking?! When my friend suddenly loses touch with reality, what am I suppose to think, huh?! I thought you were dead! Now, you wake up looking like everything is normal, but it's not and you know it's not!"

The grey eyed girl was silent, lips pressed together. Tatsuki has never been this worked up before, at least not in front of her and definitely not _at _her.

"I...I'm sorry," she whispered honestly. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Tatsuki wasn't satisfied. She wanted to say more, really wanted to keep yelling at her and tell her how tired she was of not only hers, but Ichigo's secrets as well; however, this wasn't the time or place. If she kept on like this, she wouldn't make any sense. She was tired of all the secrecy, yes, but it was only getting to her like this because she was paranoid. She's not use to seeing Orihime so tired or stressed that she would just pass out, but, she supposed, these things do happen. If this were anyone else, she wouldn't feel the need to yell at them. She cursed herself silently, running a hand through her hair.

"Don't apologize," she muttered as she sat down. "It's not your fault."

"But...you said-"

"Forget that, Orihime, I'm just worried." She sighed again then looked at her with an apologetic smile. "Are you okay?"

Orihime smiled, embarrassed, and rubbed the back of her head. "Yes, very okay, thank you. I was very busy after I went home, and I didn't get much sleep. I guess, I'm not use to that."

"What exactly did you do yesterday? You were in such a hurry to get home. It was like you had to race home to get something you've always wanted." She stopped to think. "You and Ichigo didn't...uh..." She made a small gesture with her hand, telling Orihime to fill in the blanks.

"Eh?" She leaned away from her, blushing. "You mean me and Kurosaki-kun going on a date? Wh-why would you think that?"

Tatsuki brought her hands up, defending her statement. "He left pretty early, too, and I didn't see him leave with anyone. After a while, I kinda started to think that the two of you snuck-"

"Wrong!" Orihime blurted, face completely red. "Th-that could never happen! Besides! I was cooking dinner for a friend!"

Tatsuki, who was almost mad with worry just moments ago, who had forced herself to not completely exploded, now forced the best poker face she could muster. This would usually not be hard to do, but Orihime just claimed that she cooked dinner for a friend. _She _cooked _dinner _for a _friend_. No, no, nothing about that made sense and was so obviously a cover up for something else entirely that she didn't know if she was about to burst out laughing or show disdain towards her ridiculous claim. Then again, Orihime didn't find her particular tastes as odd as everyone else, so, maybe, she thought she was coming up with a valid excuse. Why not humor her?

"A friend, huh?" Tatsuki ran a hand along her face to calm the muscles. "What friend?"

"H-his name is Kisuke. Kisuke Urahara."

At this, Tatsuki had to bite her lip to keep any slip of emotion from breaking her resolve. She's claiming she cooks for that guy Urahara who owns that weirdo shop she's seen Ichigo go to on occasions, another secret of hers. Sure, she herself knew close to nothing about the guy, but there was no way Orihime knew him like _that _and there was no way she could be cooking for him. Maybe she should let on that she knows? Then again, how far could she go with this?

"Kisuke Urahara, huh? What made you want to cook for him?"

Orihime grinned childishly. "Actually, he asked me to! He said he likes my tastes! Ah..." Orihime's smile fell, hand coming to her cheek as she thought, "though, now that I think of it, I don't remember him trying anything I made before..."

"Uh...huh..." Tatsuki nodded slowly. "Alright. How'd it go?"

"Really well. I'm going again tonight. I...uh...I just need to focus on other things before then."

Tatsuki's interest peaked. She noticed how she hesitated there. "Like what?"

"Oh, you know. School...and stuff." Orihime looked around the room again. "Did you carry me all the way here?"

She laughed. "Funny you should ask that – I've been waiting to tell you. I bet you could never guess who brought you here."

"You mean...you didn't?" She pulled on her sleeves and looked around, as if the answer was hidden somewhere. "Um...then...was it-"

"Hey, Tatsuki, is she al-? Oh, you're awake."

Orihime turned towards the voice coming from the doorway. Even though she recognized it, her first instinct was still the school nurse. However, after she caught sight of that orange hair, her heart began to flutter.

"Kurosaki-kun," she gasped softly.

"Hey, Orihime," he greeted. "How ya feeling?"

"Eh, um," she averted her gaze to her lap, suddenly aware of her appearance, "f-fine. I'm not hurt or anything."

"That's good to hear. You won't believe how bad you freaked Tatsuki out."

"Did she ask?" Tatsuki snapped. "I was just about to tell her how you carried her all the way here."

Orihime's head snapped up, staring at her tomboy of a friend.

"Oh," Ichigo said, not phased like the girl on bed. "Yeah, I did that."

She turned to him, wide eyed. "Y-you carried me all the way from the other side of the building?"

He was slightly confused about the way she asked that. "Hm? Yeah. Does that bother you?"

"No, I just...never thought you'd be that far from the main building." Her eyes widened, face burning uncomfortably. "So far...from the main building... You carried me such a long way...and in front of so many people."

"It's not that uncommon for me. I just happened to be passing through when I saw Tatsuki kneeling next to you. She told me what happened and I just sort of did it. I figured if I left it up to her, you'd probably just be dragged on the ground. And it isn't _that _far."

"You're kidding, right?" Tatsuki scoffed.

"It's not that far for me, then. And if you're worried about people seeing you, don't be. We only passed by that kid in charge of the closet."

Orihime fiddled with her fingers. "W-wasn't I heavy?"

"Nah, you were a lot lighter than I thought you would be. Compared to Rukia, everyone is kinda-"

Suddenly, Kurosaki-kun was hit in the face by one of the first aid kits. He yelled, mostly in surprise, and stumbled backwards. Orihime jumped, terribly shocked because that same kit came hurdling past her head right before it collided with his face.

"K-Kurosaki-kun?"

He held his face for a moment, hunched over, then straightened himself. He glared past Orihime to the girl next to her, staring at him with no interest whatsoever.

"What the hell was that for?!" he barked.

"What?" Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes you say stupid things and sometimes you get hurt. Why is that so surprising?"

"What'd I even say?!"

"I can't remember. It was so incredibly _stupid _that I must have blocked it out."

As a full blown argument ensued, Orihime listened to this back and forth feeling pleased with life. Seeing her friends so lively like this made her get a strong grip of herself, which she _really _needed. She almost lost her mind last night and she can't explain why something like this made her feel...better. The sense of everything crumbling and no one around to witness it frightened her, and, now, she feels the way she handled it wasn't the best. She wasn't sure if her reaction was the best or even normal and she wasn't sure if this calm peace of mind was any better. If she thought too hard, she wasn't sure about much, at the moment. All she knew was she could handle whatever came her way.

"I wonder if he's awake yet," she mumbled vaguely, her voice drowned out by her friends and her thoughts.

* * *

He had been staring at the ceiling for the past half hour trying to figure out what the hell was going on with his life. Nothing was making sense to him anymore and, he knew, it was not because it was all in his head – things were genuinely wrong with whatever forces that influenced his life. Because of the way things were turning out, and the way things had always gone for him, he believed his life was _meant _to go wrong. He was mistreated by people he didn't know as a child, hated even more by everyone including demons growing up, loved a woman that didn't return his feelings, and now all of...this. Everything going on in his present was...messed up.

With that being said, he didn't know if he really had a psychotic break or if he was waiting for it to happen. He knew where he was, knew it very well, but had a hard time figuring out how that happened. He died – he knew he died. He knew _how _he died, so how is he able to lie here like this and think the way he is? His chest had been penetrated before (and his stomach even more), but, somehow, he's never been injured fatally. This is why he knew, very well, that he was killed – heart obliterated.

Actually, after being with Kagome for as long as he has, he knew that he didn't know the things she did (primarily because _her _kind of things haven't been made up in his time), but even though some things weren't _there _or _looked into _yet didn't mean that they weren't still _true _for him. This was a good example: People needed hearts to live. If you don't have a heart then you're dead. He lost his heart; therefore, he should be dead, so why wasn't he? Or, rather, why wasn't he dead anymore?

That was the other thing, one of the issues he was trying to evade in his mind, that bothered him greatly. There was a fact about his current state that was telling him that all his earlier thoughts were invalid simply because this specific piece of evidence was missing. There should be a hole in his chest, a hole so painful and sickening that his breathing would be a missed pasttime, but he felt nothing.

No pain.

No gaping emptiness.

No nothing to indicate that he had been fatally wounded.

He had not inspected himself to confirm this, but a pain like that wasn't something that would go away without a trace, which led him to believe that one of two things happened. He either 1) was out of it so long that his wound healed completely, but he was now in a time where the people he knew would no longer recognize him or be alive (which was dumb because his fucking _heart _was blasted) or 2) she did it again. That witch he can't get the better of healed him _again_, bested him _again_, won _again_. This, he knew was the more reasonable answer because he knew he was in the place she lived – her scent was everywhere.

So, with that last thought he let slip in, this sums up why he's just been lying here like an idiot. He was confused about why he was alive and he was trapped by her smell. God, was he trapped. He would have been out of this damned place as soon as he woke up if it weren't for this _scent_. It was more sweet than any flower, but definitely wasn't a fruit. Subtle like a peach, but he still kept thinking of apples. Why did girls smell like apples? Well, Sango didn't smell like apples (more like rain), but he never really took notice. His mother smelled like a Spring night, but she didn't count as a girl. That was his _mother. _His first love also didn't smell like apples, her scent was unique, so it was something about girls from _this _time.

"They smell like apples," he muttered to himself.

Inuyasha forced himself off the bed and rolled onto his feet. He felt fine, but he stood there for a minute anyway.

He had to go. That witch lived here and he had his fill of her. She was stronger than he thought, and he couldn't win against her, he had to admit that to himself. If he kept allowing his pride to get the best of him then he would really get himself killed and, hopefully, stay dead next time.

He looked around, noting this room was almost like Kagome's but bigger and not as bright, and set his eyes on the window next to the bed. He walked over to see if it would open.

It did.

It slid to the right and was just enough space for him to get out. He sighed in relief and gave the room one more quick look around. It was a shame he couldn't get the shard while that witch was out...but...but... Huh.

He was looking at the table with all the junk on it for no particular reason when his eyes happened to land upon two flower shaped objects with silver sticks jutting out of them. One flower was blue and the other was blue with pink lines. Why this immediately struck him as odd, he didn't know. He did not understand the habits of the girls in this world, he barely understood Kagome, but he looked at these two objects for the longest time. Well, to be more accurate, the one with the eerily familiar color. What...was it about this thing? That pain in his life had said something...and that's why something about this particular object...

"_H-here."_

And she pointed to her head... But that could mean there was something wrong with her _head – _like how she would revive an enemy she killed – not these things.

"_...crystal...into...clips..."_

Clips...clips? Were these clips? He walked over to the desk and picked up both of the objects, inspecting them closely, hoping this was the break he was looking for. Nevertheless, he dropped them from his view and frowned at the ceiling. He had no idea what he was trying to determine, but he was sure these are what she was pointing at on her head. Well, no, he wasn't all that sure, it was more of a gut feeling than anything and he's been going against his gut feelings all this time.

With his mind made up, he tucked the two flower objects away and left through the window. He smirked to himself, spring into the air to begin his journey to get far, far away from

_her scent_

_those eyes_

this room. If his hunch was right, he would never have to come back here again.

* * *

Orihime, despite last nights horror and this morning's scare, had managed to have a good day. She received a lot of questions about her appearance – some of the most troubling one's coming from her teachers – and she had managed to convince them all that this was the result of a very off day. Of course, she had let it slipped to one of her teachers, Mrs. Ari, that her uniform had gotten stained beyond repair. Her teacher promptly sent her to the head of administration to get a new one right away. She shouldn't have been surprised to do so – she would have had to do it anyway, at some point – but now she felt too many people were getting involved. She was fine. She could handle anything at this point.

Yes, today turned out to be better than she gave it credit for and now she could end it on a good note as well. For tonight's dinner, she figured a stew would be best. She was not in the best of moods to create something that would resemble a five course meal. Besides, she had enough ingredients for a stew and there was quite a bit she had to do once she got home... In all honesty, she was not eager to go home and face her troubles, but if the boy was still unconscious, it was her duty to make sure that he remains healthy. Then again, if he was awake, that meant one of two things: 1) He was locked inside her apartment with no way out and would soon resort to blasting a wall or 2) he had already left and she could take comfort in worrying over nothing.

"Or...something," she mumbled to herself, climbing the stairs to her floor.

When she arrived at her door, she had to gather her strength and courage to open it. Once inside, she stood with her back against the door, listening intently. After a few moments of silence, she was convinced he was still in her room. Well, of course he was still in her room. Where else could he possibly go? Orihime set her things down and walked to her room, all the while convincing herself that this little journey was no different from any other time.

She stopped short of her doorway, heart rate slowly increasing. What was she so scared of? She wanted him to be okay, didn't she? Absolutely, but she couldn't find that out unless she goes in there.

"P-pardon the intrusion," she whispered softly, throat going dry.

Shutting her eyes, she walked into her room and ignored how all the muscles in her body seemed to tense at the same time. This made her feel foolish and she had no idea what she could accomplish this way, but she remained this way for the better part of the next two minutes. She tried talking herself out of this stance – that it wouldn't help the situation in the slightest. If he had, let's say, stopped breathing, she was delaying precious time in helping him. Or he could be wide awake but so stunned at her mannerisms that he was speechless.

Both these possibilities, and many others, urged her to open her eyes, only a peek. She gulped, shoulders coming up as her head ducked down, and parted her eyelids. To her surprise, her bed was empty. The lingering signs of a body previously being there were prevalent, but that was all. Orihime scanned the room, noticing her opened window and walked over to it. She stared at it, putting all the facts together, and was overcome by a sense of paralyzing relief.

"He's...okay," she smiled. She had nothing to prove he was okay over any other possibility, but she knew this to be true. There were no signs that he left in a hurry, like he was in danger, and everything seemed to be in tact. She brought a hand up to her mouth to stifle a few giggles before closing the window and turning around to walk in to the kitchen. She had dinner to prepare after all.

It was not until she was half way done chopping vegetables for the stew that she realized why she had been afraid to enter her house this whole time. It was not the fear that all the memories from last night would swarm back to her or that she feared being attacked, but something more...complicated than that. She was a little perplexed by it actually. She had actually feared that she would go to check on him and he would be there in her bed. He would be lying there, eyes closed, and look like he was sleeping. She would get close to him, noticing something was wrong merely because her mind would be telling her something was terribly, terribly off. Acting on this mindset, she would place her hand on his chest – or, possibly, watch his torso intently, if not checking his pulse – only to find no movement at all. She shuddered at the thought, shaking her head so she could focus on the vegetables that needed to be cut. Yes, she feared that he would be dead...but...not because she would be in some kind of trouble. She feared she would never be able to interact with him again and, if she were to be honest with herself, she was a bit disappointed that she was not able to see him off. Naturally, this was not something she fully understood and resigned herself to just being grateful that he was alive.

The sun was beginning to set by the time she got the stew into a big enough container – the cooling time took longer than she expected. She set the cooking temperature on a higher setting than normal because she thought it would cook faster that way, which it did, but she had to keep a closer eye on it than usual. The time, she knew, shouldn't bother her so much considering how early Kisuke told her she was yesterday. Still...today could be different. He might be more hungry today than he was yesterday.

She put it out of her mind. She was done now and she was almost ready to leave. All that was left was to change her clothes. Her embarrassment over going to Kisuke's house still in her school uniform had not hit her until this afternoon, when she was deciding on what to cook. Well, this new self-awareness about being out in her school uniform only found its way into her brain a few weeks back when Tatsuki was telling her some guys found it... Mm...it was a weird word she used, a word she couldn't remember at the moment, but her dark-haired friend had made a point that some men were perverted that way. She had told her that seeing a girl in a school uniform gave men dirty thoughts and the she should not go out in hers unless it was for school. But Orihime was not trying to imply that she considers Kisuke one of those men. Far from it. It was how Kisuke may perceive her coming to his house, at night, in her uniform. She didn't want him thinking she was trying to seduce him, not that she thought she could do that to anybody, but it was something that was eating at her greatly. Kisuke had not said anything to her about it, but he was a kind man after all.

Orihime walked into her room and looked through her closet. She twisted her auburn locks as she scanned her clothes with a distracted mind. At this rate, she might be late and, if she had to be technical, she wasn't in her school uniform – not one that Tatsuki would disapprove of her walking in at night.

"I can just fix my hair," she said innocently.

She turned to her desk, but frowned when the two things she was looking for wasn't where she expected them to be. They were there this morning, she was sure of it...but she was out of it, too... She bit her lip, rummaging through her desk then resorting to getting on all fours to search around it. They had to be. She needed them to be.

***o0o0o0o0o0o***

Kisuke Urahara was a man of mystery, but, when it comes right down to it, he was just like most people. On nights like these, he could be found in the middle of his living room floor reading a magazine. Also, like some people, he would be unable to tell you what magazine he was reading and why he was reading it. However, unlike most people, on this particular night, he had been one the same page for the past hour.

It was not in Kisuke's nature to be worried – he could handle most anything. So, when 8 o'clock rolled around, he could not say he was _worried_, to be exact. He was, however, curious as to what could be keeping his guest. The more he wondered, the more he told himself that this was only the second day. He could not predict her habits in two days, especially not when he told her she was early the day before. No, the shop owner was not worried. Just a little...

"Curious," he huffed to himself, tossing the worthless stapled papers to the other side of the room. He felt a strong blast of power last night... And then there was that puzzling energy. "I do hope things are not progressing faster than I expected."

Fifteen more minutes passed and there was no sign of his gracious cook anywhere. At this, he was still not worried. It was not in his nature. If anything, he was letting his mind get to him just because he was having a terrible case of déjà vu, but, he told himself over and over again, that this was the present – a completely different time. Still...this was on the border of eerie and downright cruel.

This was how it happened last time, this was _exactly _how it happened. She was running late and he didn't go looking for her. He knew something was wrong and he didn't go looking for her. Why he didn't go looking for her, he didn't remember – maybe they had a fight or maybe she had lied and said she would be with a few friends. There were too many pasts to remember why he didn't go looking for her in _that _particular one, but he knew he should have because _he _could have found her. He didn't, though... _They _found her... They...

"Dammit," he cursed, getting to his feet. He rushed to the front door, but was shocked when he heard knocking before he could even get to it.

He stood in the hall, letting it sink in.

She's here...

That's her at the door...

She's okay.

Cracking a smile, he strolled the rest of the way and opened it. Of course, he told himself, this wasn't going to be like the last time.

"Well, hello, Ms. Inoue!" he sang, truly relieved, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Hello...Kisuke..."

He looked at her, wondering where her usual energy had gone. She was wearing her gym uniform, it seemed, and she was looking at her feet. She had something big covered in cloth, which he supposed was tonight's dinner, but something about her was off.

***o0o0o0o0o0o***

Orihime felt terrible for showing up like this. Not only was she late, but she had actually cried in front of him. He had asked her what was wrong and she broke down the very next moment. He invited her in and seated her in front of the table, stepping out to get bowls and spoons, and had waited patiently for her to calm down. She _had _calmed down, but only because she was embarrassed like never before.

"Are you good?" Kisuke was now lying on his side, watching her with genuine interest, unable to even force a sympathetic look because he was more curious than he was sorry.

"Ah, y-yes." She wiped her eyes. "Please, forgive me for that."

He waved his hand dismissively. "There's nothing you need to apologize for. Now, tell me, what happened? Surely, it must be something major if it's caused you to cry."

She laughed, feeling awkward. "A-actually, it's something...not so big." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "You see, my-"

"Hair clips."

"Eh?"

He pointed to the side of his head while staring at her own with no shame whatsoever. "Your hair clips. You don't have them."

She put her hand down and stared at her lap. There were things she wanted to say, but didn't know how she wanted to start. Instead, she pushed up onto her knees and unwrapped the food.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked. She was surprised by how bashful and insecure she sounded. "Even if it all sounds...crazy?"

"Sure, go ahead."

She eyed him, filling up his bowl before she did hers. Was this even logical? Could she confide in him even though she felt like they were close after a day? She didn't know... But that's exactly what she did.

It was surprisingly easy to tell him about everything that happened last night. It must have been because Kisuke listened so attentively and never once showed any sign of judging her. In fact, he was almost accepting with the way he soaked up every word she said and ate diligently. By the time she was done, he alone had eaten half the pot. She wondered how he did it with such ease, one spoonful after the other.

"Hm," he said once she was done. "Well, that explains a lot."

"It does?"

"Well, for me, yes. Remember what I said about that crystal being powerful? Seeing how it fused with your hair clip, I think that explains that blast of energy and the changed appearance of your fairy...thing."

"But...how can you be sure?"

"Well, I can't, unless I analyze it for myself."

"Ah...that's the other thing. See, that boy...he left and I... Well, I seem to have misplaced my clips, but I-"

"Think he took them?"

She looked to the side desperately, tilting her head while wringing her hands together; she huffed a few times. "No...I don't _want _to think that. I just... He really wanted that crystal, and maybe I would have given it to him if I could, but... My...brother gave me those hair clips when I was little and...it's the only thing I have to truly remember that he cared for me and...I just..."

"Orihime," Kisuke interjected before the first tear fell, "do you believe that boy took them just to spite you?"

She was stumped, truly confused, by his question. "No, it's just-"

They were silenced by a sound coming from the door leading to the courtyard, it sounded like faint scrapping. Kisuke turned his head.

"What a surprise," he grinned. He walked over to the door and opened it. A black cat strolled in. "Yoruichi, it's been a while."

"It hasn't been that long," the deep voice said casually. The glowing eyes set their sights on Orihime. "And it's nice to see you again."

"Ah! The pleasure is mine, Yoruichi-san!"

"I never got the chance to apologize to all of you for the scare a while back. Letting Renji be the one to bring Rukia back was a mistake. We never intended for him to lead you guys into thinking we'd kill her."

Orihime reddened. "It was no burden on our part, really."

It definitely was a scare, though. Rukia was taken back to the Soul Society because of the powers she lent Ichigo. She, Kurosaki-kun, Sado-kun, and Ishida-kun went after her and fought many Soul Reapers (well, Kurosaki-kun handled most of them) – that they are now good friends with – only to find out that Rukia was being lectured by her older brother Byakuya.

"And you, Kisuke." Yoruichi turned to him. "Sending those kids after her without consulting me first. That was a foolish thing to do."

He grinned wider. "I had some new equipment I wanted to test out, but that's in the past now. What brings you to my home at such a lovely time of night? Did you, by any chance, care to join us for dinner? Or is it possible that you were looking for some alone time with me?"

"Very funny, but I'm sorry to say that I am here under grim circumstances."

"What do you mean?"

"Hold on one moment."

The two of them watched as Yoruichi walked into the hall, out of sight. A moment later, they felt a slight gust of wind and realized she had transformed. The following minutes were believed to be so she could get dressed. When she walked back in, she was in her more appealing form, fully dressed.

"Mind telling us what all this is about now?" Kisuke asked.

"I'm sorry, but," she turned to Orihime, "Orihime Inoue, in violation of Soul Society Law, Section 3, I have come for your immediate arrest."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Well, I would like to apologize for such a late update and a short story. College hasn't started yet, but, unfortunately, spacings like this will become more frequent. Until then, I will try to update sooner. Try... I will try... Also, if you haven't read FanFic stories on mobile yet, you should give it a shot. I keep pushing it because that's the way life should be lived.**_

_**Last thing: I might make a Twitter account so I can show you beautiful people my fanart, but I wouldn't use it much...so it might be a waste. If you have a more useful way of doing this, please tell me.**_

**_Not All Red Threads #6_**

Orihime was taken aback. The initial adrenaline rush, caused by fear, she did not immediately understand and it clouded her mind for a split second, causing the room to become blurry. She took in deep breaths, making sure it did not come off as abnormal. Had she heard that correctly? She was under...arrest? What had she done? The back of her mind held the answer, but what would have caused the delay?

Yoruichi was watching her carefully; she was not trying to be intimidating - just trying to evaluate her emotions, which seemed hard to do. The auburn girl looked as if she were listening to some mundane story she was trying to show interest in. Orihime, noting that they must have been waiting for her to say something, swallowed softly, trying to make the next few words come out smoothly.

"Yoruichi-san-"

"What are you talking about?" Kisuke interrupted, a shade shy of anger. He, at some point, moved himself slightly in between the two women in what, Orihime thought briefly, looked like he was ready to shield her from something.

Yoruichi looked at him sternly, clearly not in the mood for any objections. "Please, calm down, Kisuke. I don't like this anymore than you do."

"Then why are you doing this? Why didn't you warn me?"

"Be reasonable here. If I could have gotten in contact with you beforehand, I would have. And, please, don't act like you don't know what this is about. Contacting you would have been a mistake and you know it."

"You mean...?"

She nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so."

"Tck," he muttered scornfully. "So, that's it. What offense is he claiming?"

The purple haired shinigami ran a hand across her forehead, trying to keep her composure. "According to Soul Society Law, no soul is to be taken back to the World of the Living without authorization first. Last night, we got word that a fresh soul was coming our way when, all of a sudden, it vanished. Usually, we assume that it was the work of Quincies and their breach of contract, but we traced the spiritual pressure back to Orihime's apartment."

Orihime felt light-headed, heart beating shallowly in her chest. She was being punished for _saving _a life instead of taking it? She had no idea it was against the law, so why hadn't there been some kind of warning?

"You gotta be kidding! Since when has a law like that been enforced in the last-?!" Kisuke wiped a hand across his mouth, looking up so he wouldn't direct so much misguided anger at the woman in front of him. "Isn't there a way around this?" he asked gruffly.

"Kisuke, look..." She glanced at Orihime, feeling conflicted. She closed her eyes, hands on her hips, and took a moment to breathe, clearing her mind. "Orihime," she said after a while, smiling, "Kisuke and I need to have a talk. I'm sorry to impose on your plans this evening, but could you go home for now?"

"Yoruichi-" Kisuke began.

"I-it's alright," Orihime stammered before he could protest. "I...I understand. Please, take your time." She stood up, fighting through the numbness in her legs. She eyed the food on the table. "I'll leave these here for tonight. Thank you for having me," she bowed.

She turned to leave, overcome with the compelling feeling that her sudden awkward graces were being demonstrated as she left. Walking into the hallway seemed to be a laborious task, like if she were in a dream, and she could only thank any and all forces for getting her into the dark walkway.

"Orihime," Kisuke called when she was at the front door. She turned around and saw him coming her way. There was urgency in his steps and she could have sworn he was almost breathless when he called out to her.

"Y-yes, Kisuke-san?"

He stood in front of her for a moment; he stopped all movement and any pending words so suddenly that she was sure she had, somehow, did something wrong just now. She could not tell what emotion was being portrayed on his face – mainly because she did not understand it and could just barely see it due to his hat being tilted to such a low degree. From what she could tell, he looked as though he were shocked, maybe hurt, but there was no way she could be sure.

"It's nothing," he smiled, grabbing his hat to tilt it over his eyes even more. "Just be sure to get home safe, okay?"

She grinned faintly, she felt she had to. "I will, don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow." She left out the door, closing it behind her.

The blond man stood in the hall, not wanting to move. He _wanted _to watch her leave, to assure himself that things were different and that everything was alright, but _this_...this has never happened before.

"I'm surprised," Yoruichi said softly from the doorway of the living room. "I was expecting you to do more than just see her off."

"Don't you think I wanted to?" he said thickly, refusing to turn around. "She called me..._Kisuke-san _just now. She's been calling me that ever since this whole thing started, and it's driving me nuts! The last time I heard her say that...she-"

"Kisuke," the dark-skinned woman gripped her arm, hating how he was reverting back to _that _side of him, "that was a different lifetime."

"But it's the same in everyone, isn't it? It's the same life over and over and her habits are the same in each and every one. She doesn't call me that unless she's scared... So scared she could _cry. _God, I can't even pretend to know how she's feeling right now."

"Listen..." She bit her lip, unsure if she should delve further into the issue, "I know you want to keep your promise to him, but isn't this a little much?"

"It's not about the promise anymore. She's more than just someone I want to look after. She's like family to me."

"But how many times are you going to start over, Kisuke? Every time something goes wrong, you reset the universe. What are you really trying to accomplish? Are you doing it for her, him, or yourself?"

"I don't know!" he shouted, leaning his head against the door. "All of us, I guess! Each time I hope he'll stay, but that never seems to be the case, now does it? I just... I just want to be better to her than I was in the past."

"Yes, but when are you going to start living for _you_, again?"

"I _am _living for me. Why else would I be doing this?"

She waited, trying to speak some words of logic to him, but knew she wasn't helping. She knew how he felt about this, about _them_, but she hated when things went wrong – and they always went wrong at some point. "Ya know..." she said softly, "she was right. You _will _see her tomorrow."

He huffed indignantly. "Don't say what I want to hear."

She looked to the side, emotionally hurt that he refused to be helped, or she failed at helping the man she loved. She intended to try again, but figured she should stop being so formal. Yoruichi slowly walked towards him, breaking the authoritative resolve she needed and into the Yoruichi _he _needed.

"Hey," she slowly pulled on his sleeve, turning him towards her. He put up no resistance, but kept his head down. She placed both her hands on the sides of his face and gently guided his head up to look at her.

She expected this.

Tears were welling in his eyes, face turning red. Whether it was from the emotional pain or from embarrassment, she did not know.

"What's going on?" he asked softly. "Why is she-?"

"It's going to be alright," she cooed. "I've been with you from the start, haven't I? You think it was a coincidence that I was the one to come?"

He had to think about this, had to agree with her. She's been through all these times with him, every lifetime. For the most part, he's been neglecting her, but she's stayed loyal. For some reason, she stuck through all of this with him and this is why he loved her. If only he could get it right, just once. If he could get _this _right...

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close and rested his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he groaned.

She hugged him, one hand on his head, the other on his back. "I understand all of this, okay? But, listen, there's not much I can do about this one."

"Nothing at all?"

"Not _me _entirely, but we can take a chance."

"Okay," he squeezed her closer. "Anything."

* * *

Inuyasha couldn't believe himself. He, the boy who had made the biggest fuss over getting the jewel shard back, had failed miserably at fulfilling his goal. He had made it back to the Feudal Era, yes, but he had not taken two steps away from the well when he couldn't force himself to take another. He knew what he wanted was in these clips, one of them anyway, and that made this all the more frustrating. Even with his mind running rampant, he tried his best to convince himself that he didn't know what was trying to make itself known. It worked, at first, but then his body started to move on its own. He wondered why he was stopping, but then it flashed in his head the very next moment, he knew the reason all along - the reason he's been avoiding.

He didn't feel right doing this.

He cursed himself, verbally bashing his existence, forcing his legs to trudge on three more weighted steps. Why was this so hard for him? Why was getting this one, little shard back so difficult? He had finally gotten what he wanted, he was pretty damn sure this was it, so why did his body refuse to cross the necessary finish line? Again, he knew the reason. He was just pissed at himself for allowing the thought to fester in the pit of his mind in the first place. He clenched his fists, turning around, hopping onto the edge of the well then projecting himself into the air to get at the highest branch he could see. As he soared, cool air roaring at his presence, he let his mind go blank before he began his descent back down. He past a few branches before he reached his hand up to catch himself.

The sudden shock of halted motion did nothing to shake him from his thoughts. Pulling himself up, he made his way to the trunk of the tree so he could press his back against it. He stared up into the sky, purposely avoiding the moon once he caught sight of it because the color made him think of two orbs that could match it pretty well.

"Why...?" he mumbled, bringing a hand to push half of his bangs back. He wondered if he could keep this up for much longer. Naturally, he would be blaming that witch up and down right now, but, under the presence of the moon and the objects he was keeping hidden in his clothing, he could no longer bring himself to fault her, at least not right now. His fist balled in his hair, emotions having a riot within him and not caring how it effected the peace he was trying to keep in his brain.

He remained as he was for a few moments. This was new to him – he was terribly confused and he had no one to turn to. At least, no one that he wanted to give full or even partial details about why he was reduced to this state. There _was _Kagome...but he really didn't want to go to her like this. He was this confused all because he got tangled up with someone in her time, and he didn't like to think how she would react once he told her all he went through with this girl. He also did not think Kagome would like if he were to go on about another girl, period. He groaned, a gut instinct coming to him.

"I was so close."

* * *

Orihime had been aware that she was barely picking up her feet this whole way home, but she could not pick up the pace even after the streetlights came on – or when it registered in her mind when they came on. She was neither scared nor sad. She was very much...empty. There was no way she knew how to feel because this was not something she was use to. It was obvious that she was in a great deal of trouble...but why? Why did she have to hear this news now? If this came to her attention last night, she would have taken it better then; she would have felt something and maybe even been glad that someone knew what she did. As it stands now, the terrible thing she did last night was still not known because her crime, as she saw it, was that she brought a life back.

And then she was a tad confused, if that was a feeling to feel. Kisuke and Yoruichi had almost been talking in code. They were alluding to a person, but didn't say a name. She supposed that wasn't abnormal, they seemed to know who the other was referring to, but it struck her as odd that they purposely didn't say who this person was. That wasn't an important thought, but it distracted her most of the time.

She sighed, arms at her sides as she pulled on her sleeves. She wanted to feel _something. _Fear, sadness, anger... Well, maybe not anger because she wouldn't know where to place it. There was no place _to _place it. Again, she sighed, looking up to see that she was approaching her apartment complex. She wondered if someone was waiting for her, to take her away. Even then, the thought did nothing to her. Why...?

"...do I feel this way?" She finished her thought, a thought that did not completely feel to be her own.

She was on the level before hers when she heard and felt a _thump _from above. She paused, looking up, wondering what it was, if it was real, but could not hear any further movement. Was this her imagination? There was definitely a sound, wasn't there? It was too big to be a cat jumping around and a dog was not nimble enough to fall gracefully. It could have come within one of the other apartments. She swallowed thickly, mouth suddenly feeling warm, and climbed the remaining steps to her level. When she arrived at the top, able to see the other side of the open hall, her heart became heavy.

At least she was able to feel again.

* * *

He had jumped through the well before he could allow himself to second guess anything or question anything about his decision. He closed his eyes, not caring for the light-show created between worlds, and waited to feel the ground beneath his feet once again. Once contact was made, he wasted no time in jumping over the edge and putting his legs to work. He raced off of Kagome's property, not wanting to be spotted by anyone she knew, and let his legs do all the thinking for him. It made him feel less guilty.

It wasn't until he reached the door, _her _door, that he began to think about what he would say. He was out of breath, standing there, and the speeding of his heart because of the situation he was putting himself in did not help catch his breath any quicker. If possible, he didn't want to say anything. He did, however, want to test something out. If he saw her one more time, he would finally figure out if he-

His ears perked at the faint sound he heard. He looked to his right and everything but his mind shut down.

There she was.

She was wearing clothes longer and slightly bigger than he remembered and her hair was pulled back, but that didn't stop the shorter pieces, the ones in the front and slightly on the sides, from hanging out. She looked...surprised. That was something he should have accounted for...but he wished she would have made more sound getting here. He wasn't prepared for her to be here without warning. As a matter of fact, she was suppose to be here already, so why was she showing up at all?

* * *

She remained as she was on the top of the stairs – arms firm to her side, hands balled, and shoulders slightly raised. She wasn't prepared to see him again, not this soon. Not ever, really. Yet, here he was, at her door no less. _Staring _at her, even. They had been in each other's presence for a few seconds, but he wasn't blowing up on her, which, in itself, was something to make her wary. He turned to her, full body, sending her own to zap adrenaline through her.

They stood at their respective spots for minutes – she knew it must have been minutes. At first, she was merely surprised and didn't know how to move, but she noted the fierce blazing in his eyes and his own lack of movement. If she was scared, she had a funny way of feeling it. Her body told her to run, but her mind told her to stay right where she was. If she ran, there was no guarantee he would chase her, which means there was no guarantee she would see him again. This was a foolish thought. She was seeing more and more of him these days with no purpose attached, however, the point is, there should be no reason she should _want _to see him again.

It was the result of these conflicting thoughts that distracted her from moving. In the back of her mind, she was aware that this situation was becoming uncomfortable, but she willed her mind to keep thinking so this would feel less awkward.

* * *

He was starting to feel incredibly awkward. It was okay at first because he thought that she was not really there. Yes, at first, he thought his mind was taking it upon itself to punish him by throwing him an imaginary situation he couldn't deal with, but the more he focused, the more real she became. This realization had him ready to panic - this wasn't how he planned things to go. After he decided he wasn't going to say anything, he figured he'd just leave her things in front of her door and she would get it eventually, but she ruined it by coming home. Why the hell wouldn't she _be _home? Wasn't this a dangerous time for girls like her to be out?

When she froze, it gave him some time to think and gather his reasons on why he was here – to do something stupid – and he was fully prepared to deal with the situation. He came up with a new plan, a pretty good one seeing how he improvised, but she was messing this up, too. She had done something he hadn't counted on: She didn't say a word.

She stood at the end of the way, staring back at him, and this went on longer than he would have hoped. She was _suppose_ to see him, ask why he was here, and then it'd be over in a few seconds, but none of that had happened. He could just _do _it and leave...but that was not in his plan either. He wanted to say something, but that would screw up the way he saw this going. He frowned, becoming angry because his nerves were being challenged. She was an aggravating being.

"Inuyasha," he said, eyes boring into hers.

* * *

She blinked, aware that he had spoken, but wasn't sure if it was to her. It had to be, though, unless someone had appeared behind her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to say something, but hadn't thought far enough as to what to say. She swallowed, taking a silent, deep breath.

"P-pardon?" she managed.

"That's my name."

At this, she could only stare lamely. His name? Why was he telling her his name? Was it suppose to mean something to her and, if so, she wished she had been listening intently the first time. More importantly, why had he come back?

"Um...I-Inu...?"

He grunted, slightly jerking his body backward in irritation before coming back forcefully. "Inuyasha. I-nu-ya-sha."

Her heart began pounding in her throat. There was nothing threatening in telling someone your name...but he was making no sense. Unless...he was trying to be polite. She gasped to herself then, feeling rude for not returning the favor.

"My name! Uh...my name is Orihime...I-Inoue."

His frown softened, head tilting. "Ori...hime?"

She nodded, bringing her hands up to fiddled with them. "I-it sounds kind of funny when you first hear it, but I've learned to like it so much. I mean, I haven't found anyone with my name so far, though, I guess, it may have came from that legend with the two star lovers who only meet once a year. I-I always thought it was a sad story, seeing how all they wanted to do was be together, but, at the same time, it's really sweet that the two would still-"

"What the hell are you blabbing about?" His shoulders drooped. "Stars... Names... All I did was tell you _my _name."

"Yes..." She looked down at her fingers for a moment. "Um...it's-"

"Look," he stopped her, "I just came back to return your head ornaments."

"What?"

He dug around in his shihakushō and brought something out. "Just take them so I can leave."

She stared at him, feeling more than confused but couldn't wrap her mind around how immense it was. She walked over to him, not feeling scared, but as if she were getting her hopes too high. This could be a trick, he could be planning to attack her, but, she hated to admit, even if it was a trick, she would fall for it many times. Those clips mean the world to her because, at one point, her brother _was _her world. If she had a chance to have a piece of him back with her, she'd jump at the chance at any moment.

She was aware that the boy, Inuyasha, was watching her carefully, but all she could focus on was the fist extended to her. She closed the gap, holding her breath, and slowly cupped her hands below his fist. He dropped his closed hand into hers, releasing the objects, then retracted his arm back to his side. Orihime looked at her clips, hardly able to believe these were the ones she longed to have back in her possession.

"You...brought them back," she said faintly. "Why?"

He snorted. "Whaddya mean why? You made a big fuss over them yesterday."

"Yes, but... I mean..." She picked up her transformed clip and twirled it. "You... I thought..."

"Thought what?" He scowled to the side. "I was looking for the jewel shard and took those stupid things by mistake. What good are ornaments like that to me?"

"But...this cli-"

"Hey! Ori- Oru...uh, whatever. I'm looking for somethin' and, as far as I'm concerned, that ain't it."

"But it-"

He sighed harshly. "Just _take _the stupid things."

"Why are you...?" She wasn't sure what she wanted to ask him. Why was he acting like he didn't just give back what he wanted? Why was he giving them back in the first place? Why did he come back _tonight_? If he was going to return them, he could have done it tomorrow or any time where...where he didn't have to come at night.

He looked at her, a very brief glance, then turned away. She clenched her hands around the clips and looked back at him.

"Ah-"

"That's all," he said curtly. "I'm leaving." He grasped onto the rail.

"Um! Th-thank you so much! This means a lot to me."

"Yeah, yeah." He jumped over the rail and landed below.

"Inuyasha!" Orihime called suddenly, leaning over the rail. "This means more to me than you can ever know! I... I can..." She paused briefly, almost unnoticeably so. "Come back tomorrow! I'll cook something for you!" He looked back at her, she bit her lip. "I-if you want!"

She ran inside, shutting the door and pressing her back against it. She stared at the darkness of her home as she let her breathing settle. Clutching her hair clips to her chest, she couldn't believe that she had invited him to her home. That was not her intention when she realized he was about to leave, and her words had not registered with her until he looked back at her. What did he think? He looked...confused, that was for sure, but what did he think of _her _now that she did that?

"I'm...so reckless," she sighed helplessly, bring her hands to her face, sliding down the length of the door.

She looked at her hand, suddenly aware of the digging in her skin, and stared at her clips again. She moved them around with her finger, overwhelmed with the presence of them. She thought they were gone for good, but he brought them back. He...took them...then brought them back.

"Why would he do that?" she whispered to herself.

* * *

Why had she said that? More importantly, what did that mean? Come back? She wanted him to come _back_? Here? He shook his head, turning and jumping on rooftops to head back to the well. He wasn't coming back here. Well, that was a lie. He would have to come back eventually because, after he collected all the shards from his time, he would have to find her again. That was a long ways off, though – just like he was when he realized, after convincing himself for ten minutes that he had no more to do with that girl, he had past Kagome's house.

When he made it back to his time, he sat against the well, pulling on his bangs. He wasn't concerned, he was just confused. She told him to come back tomorrow...so she could cook for him. She wanted to cook him food? So, she wanted him to eat? She wanted to make something for him in the hopes that he would eat it. Unless...she meant something else, but what? She was...bad. She stole the shard from him...after she healed his injuries. But she _did _kill him...then brought him back. She didn't make any sense. She was probably a sadist.

He growled, letting his head hang. This was suppose to be the end of all his problems, but nothing changed. He had a reason to not go back for a while, but that didn't particularly please him. Maybe he should have given her the plain looking ornament back only.

He looked at his hand, the hand that touched hers. Her hands had been soft, the softest he ever felt. Clenching his fist, he balled it in his other hand. One thing was for sure. He figured out something about himself and...

"I don't get it," he sighed.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Not All Red Threads #7_**

Her first thought had been about the weather, and it had been safely concealed in her mind for the entirety of the outing. The sun was in the sky, but, if she really thought about it, she did not see it anywhere even though it was pleasantly warm. The sky had been a marvelous deep blue, blemish free, void of clouds. There was a breeze that occasionally blew gently, dancing through her hair and swirling it in lazy loops that would tickle at her cheeks. Every now and then she would giggle at how light and worry free she felt, which would cause amused, coffee brown eyes to look down at her.

"There you go again," he would murmur softly, gently nudging her with his arm.

She, in return, would squeeze the toned, calloused hand holding hers and look up at him, leaning into his form. "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun."

He laughed, a sound originating from his throat. "You can call me Ichigo when we're alone." He paused to think over his words. "Actually, just call me Ichigo all the time."

She blushed. She wanted to respond to him, but, she knew, it was not something that was meant to be denied. The fact that things like this were a 'matter-of-fact', in his book, made her love him even more.

They had been walking in the park for the past fifteen minutes, hand in hand, when something up ahead caught her eye. She did not know what she was looking at right away because there was nothing there. No, actually there was, she could _feel_ it. About five yards in front of them, she could feel a presence coming their way. She stared intently and pondered more as the distance between them and that presence grew smaller and smaller. The anticipation was building inside of her, causing her heart to beat rapidly. They were so close now, she could feel that presence in front of her. She held her breath, realizing it was moving beside her. All at once, there was the hint of warm breath near her ear, clouded by a silver and crimson blur.

"What?" she gasped, stopping in her tracks, turning around at whatever had just passed. The figure stopped, but was now a good ten feet away. It was a person with silver hair, wearing a red shihakushō.

"That's my name," a disembodied voice stated firmly. The figure turned to her, golden eyes piercing her very being. She took half a step closer to him.

"Inu-!"

Orihime's eyes flew open, body tingling and breathing shallow. Her head pounded, leftover adrenaline, as she stared at her ceiling. She had been dreaming. This was true enough, but she had a hard time wrapping her mind around the concept. She hadn't even known when she fell asleep last night and now she forcibly woke herself up from a very peculiar dream. She turned on her side, lifting the blankets so that it came up to her nose.

What had she been dreaming about exactly? It was so clear a few seconds ago, but now she hadn't the slightest idea. By the pounding of her heart, it was either very good or very bad. She sighed, looking at her desk. She could think about this all morning, if she allowed herself to do so, but if she stayed in bed any longer, she'd be late for school and, she knew, the will to get up was draining quickly.

"I'm up," she yawned to herself, making no further movement than that.

She curled into herself, but something felt off about her bed. It was sinking more to the left than usual and, if she allowed her imagination to have its way, she was sure she felt a presence behind her. Her body stiffened, heart picking up once again. It was all in her mind, most things she thought or felt typically were, but she's never experienced her body making her _feel_ things that weren't there.

Slowly, Orihime looked over her shoulder and nearly jumped out of bed until she recognized the strawberry blond hair. Her eyes widened slightly as she sat up and looked at the shinigami still dressed in her Soul Reaper attire.

"Rangiku?" she squeaked.

The woman next to her was tucked comfortably beneath the blankets with her hair spilled all over her pillows. The fact that Orihime hadn't noticed this sooner amazed her, but, then again, she supposed, Rangiku wasn't a Soul Reaper for nothing. Orihime sat in her position, staring at the wall above the sleeping woman every now and again, for the better part of five minutes before carefully getting out of bed. She was conflicted between two options – getting ready for school and waking her friend – but ultimately decided that if Rangiku had managed to go to sleep before waking her up then maybe it was best to let her rest until later. Of course, the waiting and all the questions she had until then would kill her because a visit such as this did not happen very often and for no good reason.

"Pardon me," Orihime bowed to the sleeping woman as she crept to the bathroom.

The daily morning routine went smoother than she had thought. Rangiku had not waken up, or at least gotten out of bed, despite the few, yet, noisy times, Orihime slipped in being sneaky. By the time she was dressed for school, she began to worry. She checked to see if Rangiku was breathing and everything seemed to be in order, so, she figured, her friend must have been really tired. She left out a box of cereal on the counter before she crept to the door.

"Good morning," a drowsy voice yawned. Orihime jumped, turning back towards the hallway. The older, busty woman was standing in the hall, rubbing her eyes.

"M-morning, Rangiku."

Rangiku stared at Orihime blankly, wondering why she would be dressed so early in the morning.

"Wait a minute!" she exclaimed, bringing her hands to her hips. "Were you about to leave me here without so much as a 'hello'?" She made squeaking sounds, trying to find words to say as the realization of her words registered with her. "I thought we were friends!"

Orihime bit her lip, mind swarming with varying levels of guilt. "W-well, we are. You were sleeping so soundly that I-"

"_I _was sleeping soundly?" She pointed at herself, raising an arched eyebrow. "You're one to talk! I arrived here last night and tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't budge! I finally gave up around midnight." She stretched, groaning. "I didn't expect to sleep for as long as I did, but it looks like that can't be helped."

"I'm sorry." Orihime blinked a few times. "I've never slept like that before." She stopped to think. "Well, I don't think I have."

"No use worrying over that now," Rangiku dismissed, frowning. "There's something more important that we need to discuss."

The young girl became alert, fearfully so. "L-like what?"

Rangiku walked over to Orihime, staring her down. The younger of the two fidgeted; she's never seen her look so serious, at least not like this. Rangiku huffed, jutting one hip out slightly as a hand rested on it. "Don't act so coy, Orihime, you know what I mean."

"I...I do?"

Rangiku nodded, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they were bright with tears. Orihime's eyes widened, confusion and concern stumbling over each other. Rangiku leaned forward, her hands balled to her chest. "You can explain to me how it's possible that you haven't visited even once!"

"E-eh?" She leaned back slightly, not expecting this. She didn't know what to expect to begin with, but she hadn't expected this.

"Don't 'eh' me! It's been months and I haven't seen even a glimpse of you in the Soul Society! Do you know how long I've waited?!"

Orihime's eyes began to water, no good reason attached other than Rangiku's theatrics, and her hands started flailing around on their own. "I-I'm so sorry, Rangiku! I really don't have a way to get there on my own and even if I did, I wouldn't know where to look. Oh, but these are just excuses, aren't they? I'm sorry! I'll visit more, I promise!"

"Don't make promises like that now!" She pulled Orihime into a hug. "You adorable little redhead, you're going to make my job all that much harder!"

She struggled for air against the woman's chest. "Job?"

"Hey," she pulled Orihime at arm's length and inspected her, "why are you dressed?"

"I have...school."

"School?" One finely defined eyebrow lowered. "What is that?"

"A place...where we learn and-"

"What?! That's still a thing in this world? I thought that was a place you humans went to hang out or something."

Orihime giggled. "You could look at it in that way, too." She glanced at the time. "Um, sorry, but I really have to be going. Will you... Um, do want to come back after school?"

"What? You mean you're seriously going to leave me here?"

"But I...I don't have much of a choice."

Rangiku shook her head disapprovingly. "How about another idea?"

"Like...what?"

***o0o0o0o0o***

Orihime held her bag in front of her, a nervous habit. She looked to the side every few seconds, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Are you sure this is okay?" she asked.

"Of course it is. We had no other choice."

Rangiku had switched into a gigai, equipped with a school uniform, and was now accompanying Orihime to school. Orihime couldn't say that she wasn't glad to have her, and this wasn't a huge problem, but she did worry over whether or not Rangiku would actually be able to _attend _her school. There had to be...paper work of some sort that needed to be done first.

"Say, Rangiku? Why did you come all the way to see me anyway? I'm glad you're here, but I had no time to get my house ready or anything."

She tossled her hair, mulling over her words. "About that, Orihime. I'm actual-"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

They had just arrived on the school grounds when they heard that familiar yell. They looked up into the building to find Ichigo and Rukia gaping at them from a window.

"Morning!" Both women waved, smiling radiantly.

***o0o0o0o0o***

"Explain this!" Ichigo demanded. As soon as Orihime and Rangiku entered the building, they were both whisked away to the roof where a surprisingly steamed Ichigo and a dumbfounded Rukia cornered them.

"Nice to see you too, Ichigo," Rangiku pouted, crossing her arms.

"Don't give me that! And what the hell is up with that uniform?!"

"Don't you like it?" She flattened out her shirt, which wasn't much of an effort seeing how her cleavage left only the bottom buttons buttoned. "I hear the men in this world are into this sort of thing."

"This is a school!"

"Ichigo, calm down," Rukia scolded. She turned to Rangiku. "What are you doing here, lieutenant Matsumoto?"

"So formal," she waved her hand. "We're going to be classmates for a while, Rukia, so lighten _up_. Besides, I'm here on official business."

"Official business?" Ichigo questioned. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, but this is strictly between me and Orihime."

Orihime looked at her, alarmed. "Me?"

* * *

He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, but he was learning to get use to that. It's only been a few times he's had to do this, but he was already warming up to his mind keeping him up all night long. No, actually, that would imply that a part of him was actually starting to _like_ the way things were turning out which, he decided, was not true. He wished he could sleep instead of staying up and thinking about the same thing – the same person.

If he was to be perfectly honest with himself, if it would slow down his process of going crazy, he had to admit he couldn't get that girl out of his mind. He knew he had a problem before, but that was because she had something he wanted. Now, she had something he wanted, but he _let_ her have it and that wasn't even the reason he was thinking about her so much this time around. When he saw her last night, he had actually been scared for the briefest of moments, and it was for very stupid reasons. He was afraid she'd think he was a creep for showing up at her house at night. He was also concerned over why _she _seemed to just be getting home at that time of night. Maybe, in her time, being out when the sun had just gone down wasn't such a big deal, especially not when they have metal trees that shine lights, but he wasn't from that time and his mind raced at all the possible dangers she could have encountered. None of this made sense to him, of course. He shouldn't _care._

Now, it was a new day and he was spending it poorly. He had been sitting in a tree close to Kaede's hut and every now and then he heard the others call out to him in hopes that he would come. They didn't sound overly worried, so he never answered or came down. He was feeling a bit down, and he didn't know how to act around them. His chest felt heavy and, if he were to move, he'd most likely head in the opposite direction, to _her_.

He groaned at even acknowledging the thought. "I'm not even going back."

He stared at the sky for several, inattentive minutes before shaking his head fiercely and jumping down from the branch. He didn't know what to do with himself and it was aggravating him unlike anything he's ever experienced.

***o0o0o0o0o***

"You know," Sango said, polishing her weapon as the usual group sat around Kaede's hut, "things have been kind of slow for us."

"I have noticed this as well," Kaede agreed, arranging herbs for future remedies. "I have enjoyed the company of all of you, but hardly have I seen any of ye off to find the jewel shards."

"That's not completely our fault," Shippo exclaimed from Kagome's lap. "Inuyasha has been acting strange and we can't go off by ourselves. Without him, we're as good as dead."

"Thanks for your trust and support, Shippo," Sango exaggerated her sarcasm.

"He does have a point," Miroku concurred. "Inuyasha has been very distant lately. I wonder why that is."

Everyone turned to Kagome. It took her a while to realize what was going on and, when she did, her face immediately flushed.

"Why are you all looking at me?!" she gushed.

"Well, whenever he's in a bad mood, it's always a safe bet to put you at the top of the list," Miroku rationalized.

"Well, it can't be me this time." She looked at her hands that were petting Shippo, a bit embarrassed and grief stricken. "I actually haven't seen much of him either."

"Ah," Miroku crossed his arms, shutting his eyes with some unknown knowledge. "So, it's like that."

"Like what?"

"Is it not obvious? Inuyasha is a growing young man, so he must have some internal conflicts about these new emotions in his life."

"What are you trying to say?" Sango asked. "That he's distancing himself from us because he has big boy feelings he can't deal with?"

"Close, my fair Sango. It is not _us _he's trying to distance himself from. It is Kagome."

Kagome pointed to herself, like he could possibly mean anyone else. "Me?"

"Why her?" Sango pushed.

"Well, women are very complicated creatures and Inuyasha has not the necessary skills to deal with them appropriately."

"Hold on," Sango said indignantly. "First off, what do you know about women, and what makes you so sure that Inuyasha's problem is something so ridiculous as that?"

"What else could it be?" he shrugged. "His feelings for Kagome must be building up inside of him and there's no way he'd turn to any of us for help." He shook his head conclusively. "No, I'd say it's only a matter of time before he bottles up his desires so much that he'll take it out on any one of us."

At that moment, the doorway was blocked of light. Inuyasha stood there, face grim, and scanned the faces looking up at him.

"Inuyasha," Kagome started.

"You," he growled as he stormed over to Miroku, grabbing him by the collar. "You're coming with me."

"Wh-what?!" the monk exclaimed, face draining of color. "N-no, it's not me you want!"

"Shut up." Inuyasha began dragging him from the hut.

"Inuyasha, wait! Think this through! Sango! Kagome!" he yelled as he passed them. "Don't let him take me like this!"

The women and Shippo watched in awe as the two men left. There was not much they could think under the circumstances and, with Miroku's wise words echoing in their minds so clearly, they had rather not think too hard in this situation.

"Who wants tea?" Kaede offered.

***o0o0o0o0o***

This, of course, was a spur of the moment decision. If he had not come at such a time, this would not be happening. He was going to walk into the hut when he happened to hear Miroku describe his current state almost perfectly. It was a relief at first, there was hope that someone would understand, but then he became incredibly desperate. If he thought anyone could help him, he hated to admit that it could very well be Miroku.

"Inuyasha," the shaken monk said, "we can talk about this, you know? I-I wouldn't want you doing something we'd both regret."

The half demon huffed, releasing the man forcefully. "Why do you talk so damn much?"

"Listen, I don't know what this is about, but-"

"Shut _up_, will ya?! Just let me think for a change!"

Miroku fell silent. For a moment, he was inclined to think that Inuyasha was too harsh just now, but his voice cracked ever so slightly and his eyes were ablaze with turmoil. Whatever was going on was more serious than he thought.

"Inuyasha," he said cautiously, "what is this about?"

The half demon made a motion like he was going to yell something, but stopped, searching the ground. "I...I don't really know. I just... I have this..." He huffed, turning to face the other way with one hand thrust into his hair. "How much do you really know about women?"

At this, Miroku could only stare lamely. If this was anybody else, he would be able to make a good guess on what this was about, but this was _Inuyasha_. A question like this made no sense coming from _him._

"What...do I know?" He regained his composure, trying to answer honestly. "Well, I would like to think that I have a very vast knowledge, but that depends on what you are really trying to ask me."

There was silence.

"What..." Inuyasha tried again. "If a girl says she wants to cook for you, what does that mean?"

"It...well, it means she wants to cook for you, does it not?"

He huffed, turning towards him, tripping over his words. "Yes, but if she asks you, personally, to come to her house so she can cook for you, is that all there is to it? She's not...trying to poison you or something?"

Miroku's eyes widened. Suddenly, he knew what this was about and he was right all along. There _was_ a problem with Inuyasha and it really _did_ concern Kagome. He would have never guessed Kagome would want to cook for him privately, but, he supposed, girls in her time did things a bit differently.

This was serious. Inuyasha would not come to him with a problem like this if it was something he knew how to handle and now what he said could strongly affect the progression of love.

"Listen closely, Inuyasha." Miroku prompted him to come forward, index finger pointing in the air for emphasize. "Now that I understand the situation, I can help you without fail. In a case like this, said girl obviously wants you to eat what she made, and this is the most important aspect of it all: She will prepare the food herself; she will put all her heart and soul into it, meaning that, in a sense, when you eat this meal, you are consuming her affections as well."

The half demon frowned, head in a whirl. He thought something was different about the offer, but not something like _this_. He wasn't ready for _this_.

"What... What if I refuse to go?"

"Shameful!" The monk righted himself, slashing the air with his hand. "You have already agreed to go!"

"Wrong!" Inuyasha chopped the air with his hand, landing on his other palm. "She never gave me a chance to reply! She invited me then ran inside before I could say anything!"

"WHAT?! Then you have to go! Obviously, there's no reason for you to actually say yes. The two of you are at a level where things like this are naturally understood."

"Y...you think?" He thought that over. Were they really to such a point? She did save him on more than one occasion, but she was starting to be a problem. Well, she _was _a problem, but...now _he_ was the reason she was a problem.

"I _know,"_ the monk confirmed his thoughts._ "_Now, you must understand, you _must _go... When is this suppose to happen?"

"Tonight."

"Right, tonight." He paused, jamming his staff into the ground as his eyes widened comically. "Tonight?! How long have you known about this?"

"Since...last night."

"And you're just now getting advice?! Inuyasha, what did you intend to do?"

"I _intended _to just blow the whole thing off."

Miroku paused, long enough for his high from all the excitement to pass. "So, what did you come to me for?"

He thought he had an answer for that, he felt like he had a good answer for that not so long ago, but now that he had a chance to say it out loud, he had no idea why he had done what he did. Everything he was doing lately...made absolutely no sense after the fact.

"I...I have no idea. This is all just...coming out of nowhere."

"You are telling me you honestly didn't see this coming?"

"What?" he asked incredulously. "Being invited to dinner? Of course not! I... I mean, it's not that I don't want to go..."

"Then _go. _The two of you will be alone, and you'll have a home cooked meal with all the delicious foods from Kagome's time."

Inuyasha's head snapped in his direction. "How did you know it was in Kagome's time. I never said that."

Miroku studied Inuyasha's face. He was blushing a deep shade of red, glaring at him but looking like a bashful child. Had he really thought there was another way to interpret all of this? He smiled, patting his comrade on the back.

"Inuyasha, it is quite obvious."

* * *

The day had been different, to put it honestly. Rangiku had definitely made an impression, introducing herself as Orihime's cousin who will be staying with her for a while. Everyone believed her and she had no idea why. They didn't look alike. She supposed they had a few things in common, like, maybe, food preference and weird habits, but that was about it.

"So," Orihime said as they made their way home after stopping at the market, "you never did tell me how your official Soul Reaper business relates to me."

"It's nothing major. I just have to watch over you for a while, that's all."

Orihime swung her bag lightly, picking her words as best she could. "Is this...because of what I did?"

Rangiku was silent. She could have answered in that upbeat, no worries tone she had, but Orihime had sounded frightened.

"Honestly," Rangiku sighed, running her hand through her hair, "I don't know what all the fuss is about. You must have had your reasons and it's not like Soul Society Law has been explained to you. Personally, I don't think it should apply to you."

"Am I going to be...executed?"

She looked at the auburn girl, shocked. Orihime was looking at the ground, eyes void of emotion. Had she truly believed that? Orihime, the girl who could turn any situation into something positive? What was she not getting? Why was this girl being so hard on herself? Rangiku frowned, shaking her head.

"My, you think the worst!" She grabbed her hands, nearly causing Orihime to drop the bags. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, so you shouldn't say crazy things."

She blushed, feeling foolish. "R-right."

***o0o0o0o0o***

For dinner, Orihime made a roast with corn, carrots, and green beans as sides. With the help of Rangiku, they were able to make Dirt Cake. She hadn't even known she had the ingredients for it, but they were able to fill an eight inch bowl that was three inches deep.

"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" Orihime asked as they finished packing up the food. "I don't want you getting in trouble at my expense."

"Don't be silly. I'll walk you there and, hopefully, be back before midnight. You've planned these dinners way before I came along, so I'm not going to intrude. Besides, there's so much to do in this world!"

"Then...are you sure I should take all the food? Kisuke has a pretty big appetite."

"It's fine, it's fine." Rangiku grabbed the cake. "Let's go, let's go. Your man awaits!"

"My...what?"

When they arrived at Kisuke's house, it had been eerily quiet. They had rung the doorbell twice and, in the back of Orihime's mind, she wondered when the other residents of the house would return.

"Maybe...he's not in?" Orihime suggested.

"Well, that's rude," Rangiku pouted. "You come here every night, so the least he can do is wait by the door until you get here."

"Maybe he-"

All of a sudden, Rangiku began banging on the door. "Hey, open up! You're not going to make this girl come all the way out here for nothing!"

"Ra-Rangiku!" Orihime cried, stunned. "There's no need for that!"

"No need?!" She continued to bang. "Orihime, you cooked for this man! The least he can do is eat!"

"B-but-!"

The door opened, swiftly and much to their surprise. Kisuke stood on the other side, his face mirroring theirs. His eyes were fixed on Orihime, hers on his, and there was a shock value that was felt.

"You came," he awed, voice barely audible.

"I did," she squeaked, not use to the full on attention he was giving her.

"Was there ever any doubt?!" Rangiku shoved the bowl in his arms. "I take my job seriously, thank you very much."

He looked at her, still stuck in disbelief. He glanced at Orihime once more, accepting that this was not a trick his mind was playing, and turned back to the Soul Reaper, smiling. "Yes. Thank you."

"Take care of her!" she turned on her heels. "If anything happens to her while I'm gone, I'm hanging it over your head!"

They watched her go, simply because she was shouting threats the whole way. It was funny, to Orihime at least.

"Um," she turned to Kisuke, "I didn't... I mean... You still wanted me to come...didn't you?"

His eyes snapped to her. "Yes, yes, of course. Considering the circumstances, I didn't think you'd show." He smiled, turning quickly in hopes she didn't see. "Come in, come in!"

She followed, not fully understanding how he was feeling.

"You know," he said once they were in the living room, "I must admit that I wasn't able to finish yesterday's supper. I feel bad taking more food from you."

She placed the food on the table. "Was it...not good?"

"No, no, that's not it at all. Like I said, I didn't think you'd come, so I was saving food for tonight. It's very good stew, Orihime."

"Thank you," she smiled.

Silence fell between them. They didn't feel awkward. There were things they both felt they had to talk about.

Kisuke was the first to cave. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." She pushed hair behind her ear. "Rangiku is here to watch me and I don't feel like I'm in danger. I'm just...anxious."

"Nothing's going to happen to you." He was quick to say this. "I won't let it."

She grinned at her lap. "Rangiku said the same thing. I'm not...afraid of whatever happens to me. If I'm to be executed-"

"That's not going to happen," he said firmly. "And you shouldn't accept that so easily. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I did kill him, Kisuke."

"That's not what they're punishing you for. What they're punishing you for shouldn't even be taken to such extremes."

"So...execution is a possibility?"

He hesitated, thinking over what he said to make her ask that. "Look," he said softly, "trust me when I say I'll protect you no matter what, alright?"

She accepted his words, she just didn't know why, though. He seemed willing to risk a lot for her, but why? Even yesterday, he had gotten so defensive of her and that added to the numbing of her emotions. It was a lot to take in. Sure, they had gotten closer with these dinners, but was that all it took to get devotion like this? She wanted to ask him, but she didn't know how. If she was thinking too much about it, she had no way to justify her way of thinking.

"How is that boy?" Kisuke asked.

She looked up. "Inuyasha?"

"Inu-what-cha?"

She blushed, pushing at her bangs, nearly laughing when she said, "That's his name"

"Oh," he smiled. "He told you his name, did he? When's the next time you'll see him?"

"I-I'm not sure. I...I think I invited him to dinner, but-"

"You invited him to dinner?" he grinned. "Tonight? I thought you were afraid of him."

"W-well...yes, I mean, I think... Dinner, I mean..."

"What he say? What he say?"

She fiddled her fingers, looking up at Kisuke through her eyelashes. "I ran away before he could answer."

He laughed, a full hearted, deep belly laugh. She laughed, too, it was hard not to.

They spent the next hour talking. At first, it was about her dinner date and then it strayed into many different topics, but neither of them noticed. It was good to get back to this care free aspect of life - surprisingly easy, as well. Both had expected the other to feel awkward, maybe even to start avoiding, but that didn't happen. They were both grateful for that.

Kisuke looked at the time. It was going on eight o'clock and, he figured, she had to go now if she were going to entertain her other guest. He didn't want her to go, but there was someone close to her that would love to hear she's planned a date for herself.

"Are you sure you don't want more food than what you took?" Orihime asked as they walked to the door.

"Don't be so sweet." He rubbed the top of her head. "Besides, you'll need to make a good impression tonight."

She reddened. "No, I won't," she pouted.

He laughed, opening the door for her. "Tell me how it goes."

"I will," she nodded. Not that she thought there would be a night to tell him about.

"Orihime," he called as she turned away.

She turned back. "Ye-?"

At first, she thought she lost her footing because she was definitely falling, but then she landed on something firm. Firm, yet, soothing in a way that didn't click with her right away. She realized it was a chest, Kisuke's chest. He was hugging her.

"I'm so glad you're alright," he whispered.

She froze, more in her mind than in her body. There was definitely something between them that she did not understand, but, in time, she supposed she would. For now, whatever it was, it filled her with much the same emotion that her brother use to give her. Warmth, security, love. She only wished her hands weren't full so she could hug him back.

***o0o0o0o0o***

She made it home shortly after the streetlights came on. It was an amazing feat considering her mind had been so preoccupied that she couldn't even remember walking here. She set the food down, searching for her keys. As she was about to let herself in, there was a thump behind her, right behind her. She turned before her fears could tell her to do anything else and locked eyes with the crouching figure on her apartment railing.

She exhaled, trying her best to keep her voice steady, "Inuyasha."

He responded, looking at the ground then back to her, with a simple, "Hey." Thought better of his words and added, "What's for dinner?"

**.**

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**Okay, hold on. I know this may be a cliffhanger of sorts and I know I haven't posted a chapter for this story in a while. I also know that I have some nerve to start a new story WHILE something like this is going on, but you have to understand... I am but a mortal. I do mortal like things, it is my curse. I would have went right into the dinner date, but this chapter felt long and I didn't want to just pack stuff in here because I've neglected to update sooner. I can't promise that the next chapter will be out any quicker...but it will be out.**

**And, to whom it may concern, I made a Twitter account blah blah ago to post the pictures I've done, and then some. If it tickles your fancy, give it a look see. /JuriDP**

**Hopefully that works... Technology has been real stupid with me lately. Also, I wouldn't suggest you follow the account because my second time checking it has been just now. So...ya know...if anything major happens, I'd tell you guys... Okay, love you all! It's time for sleep!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Would it make up for anything if I apologize? Here, let me tell you what happened. Some odd weeks or month ago, I happened to be watching Naruto Shippuden with my little brother (which I don't do because it has so many fillers) and I heard THE most amazing opening song ever! I think it's the 13th one and I FELL IN LOVE! That was around the same time I bought Naruto volume 62 and...ugh. The feels... So, then I was so inspired with the Naruto aura that I had to draw and I drew a picture of Naruto. He was suppose to look evil, but then he had to smile and I caved and made him look adorable. Now, I don't know if it was the combination of that song, the drawing, and the manga or WHAT, but a SasuHina story jumped into my brain that I couldn't shake, so I wrote it in one day - a few hours, really. Then I thought, "Why not post it on FanFiction? It'll be a oneshot", so ****I**** posted it. I just...didn't mark it as 'Complete'.**

**Here's the crazy part, I woke up the next morning with 16+ notifications for people reviewing/favoriting/following and whatever.**

**I was shocked.**

**Then I read the reviews and people liked it.**

**I was stunned. **

**Why? Because it only took me a few hours to write it and the title was something I churned out right before I posted because I forgot to come up with one. Now...I'm working on two stories. And the thoughts for the other story, for some reason, flow easier than this, but I will change that! I need a hardcore Inuyasha marathon because I don't feel like I'm capturing him anymore. So, there you have it. If you want to check out my other story, ****_Black And Purple Don't Mix, _****feel free to do so because it may get updated more. Sorry. I warn you! Me and the fans of that one have agreed...it's dark and Sasuke is messed up in the head. So, if you can handle a SasuHina story that is in no way made to make you feel all warm inside, unless you sail that way, then mosie on over there. And the next chapter of this story, I'm seeing, will be all about Inuyasha because he has some things to confront. Again, sorry for the long wait and an unfulfilling chapter! I really do love you guys.**

**P. S. I wish you guys knew me to know the true significance of this, but my favorite color is purple and now my hair is purple! Well, purple and black, but it's always been that way. I mean, it's a different style so now it looks like my whole head is purple in the certain light and...I just love it. Life is so bombastic.**

**_Not All Red Threads #8_**

Things weren't going his way, so the fact that he felt like life had thrown him another curve only made him feel stupid because this was _normal _now. If things started making sense and fell into place then _that _would be the time to panic. Still, when he left his time, he was under the impression that he would have time to stand outside her door and _think _this through a bit more. She would either be inside or not home yet; she was not supposed to be outside. No. She wasn't _allowed _to be outside. It's like she knew when to mess up his plans. And that was the other thing, why couldn't he detect her scent?!

So, he had no choice but to say something and she...didn't respond. She just _stood _there and there was nothing to indicate what to do next, so he waited. He breathed, focusing on keeping his nerves under control, and stared back at her. That's all they've been doing for the past minute or so and he found he could deal with that. It was just something about her eyes that made this okay. Her eyes were more round than any other girl he met; they all had a certain all-knowing gleam while her eyes just provided comfort. Even when they were wide, unbelievably so, they offered comfort.

"Oh!" She jumped, turning back to the door. "Please, come in."

And that's when his nerves started to act up. She turned, using something from her pocket to poke at the door, and he let his mind run rampant.

This was it.

This was really going to happen. Was he ready? He could leave right now and never turn back...but what if he wanted to come back? That is, _of course_, he would _have_ to come back and get the shard, but what would she think of him then? Dammit... Why did he come? If he knew what this all meant then why had he come? It's not like he needed her affection.

She finally got the door open and clumsily picked up the whatever somethings that were being covered. He caught a whiff of _those _and it made his stomach knot. He was hungry. When was the last time he ate?

He stepped off the rail. He didn't know if this was right...but he was already here. When they were inside, he looked around. It was all he could do to not crumble at the scent that surrounded him, _her_ scent. It got better the more he was around it, but he didn't want that to happen. He didn't want her to have this affect on him because he was already...

"Um," she said, standing in the doorway of a room filled with a lot of equipment he wasn't familiar with. "You can...sit there while I...get the food ready."

She pointed to a table that was in the middle of the room. He said nothing, just sat at one end with his arms and legs crossed. What the actual hell was he doing? _Why_ was he here when he knew what this all _meant_? This all meant...that she felt something for him. There was no other way to think about it, that's the conclusion that they came to. He shook slightly. Did she know that he knew?

* * *

Did he know how she was feeling? She was unbelievably, undeniably nervous. Her emotions were all over the place. She invited him, yes, but she hadn't _meant _it. Well, she did mean it, in a way, but she said it only because she thought he would refuse. She wanted to thank him and inviting him to dinner was the first thing that flew to the front of her mind. Now...he was here. And Rangiku wouldn't be back for a while, so there was no hope that this would end early. _If_ she even wanted it to end early. Why did he come?

She stood in the kitchen, pretending to move the containers of food around. She wanted to glance behind her, to see if he saw her stalling, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. He was just so...quiet today. If he yelled at her or insulted her then maybe she could feel...normal. But he just sat there. Quiet. Possibly...watching her.

Orihime sighed, unable to keep it steady. She gathered the covered containers, along with two utensils for good measure, and walked back into the living room. To her comfort, he was looking at the ceiling when she walked in, but now his gaze was upon her, inspecting her. She wondered if he was wondering why she walked into the kitchen with the very same objects she was placing before him. Steadily, she placed the last of the containers on the table and looked at him. At the same moment, he looked at her, gold and silver aligning. She shut down, her body immediately plopping down across from him.

"Um..." She looked at the table, food still covered. "A roast." She looked up, greeted by his confused stare and continued, "With some vegetables and there's cake... Well, cake... It's a cake, but it looks more like pudding when you put your spoon into it. And...it looks like dirt, but it really isn't." She moved her head to the side. "Well, it is called Dirt Cake, but-"

"What," he said, slowly, "are you talking about?"

Her cheeks tinted, fingers pulling at each other. "I have no idea," she mumbled. "I'm a little...flustered."

His confusion increased.

"Let's eat," she offered. She began to untie the cloths and revealed their contents. Inuyasha watched in silence, not moving from his spot, arms and legs crossed.

It was quiet, awkward, tense, as she set the food out for them. She was shaking, she knew he saw, and all she could do to not fully shut down was tell herself that this was a one time thing. After tonight, she wouldn't see him anymore. She just didn't know if that would be by choice or not.

* * *

He thought he understood, but now he wasn't so sure. She invited him because she liked him and he came because...well...just because. It would be rude not to. But if she liked him, why had she barely looked at him since he got here? Why was she shaking so bad? Why was he so hungry? Nothing was coming together.

When she sat back down, he kept his eyes on her. She was in the clothes she wore when they first met – and maybe he liked her other clothes better – and she was staring at her lap. Was she acting like this because she liked him? She wasn't like this all the other times, so maybe she knows he knows? Which...would be impossible because he only found that out today.

"What's your name again?" he asked.

She jumped, looking up at him like she was surprised someone was there. "It's...Orihime."

"...hime... Orihime."

She nodded, shoulders raised. "Th-that's right."

He was going to say something, anything, but he was suddenly keenly alert to the food in front of him. He stared at the table, taking in all the food and the brown stuff in the bowl that also made his stomach twist with hunger pains. She handed him something, an object that looked...weird.

"What's this?" he asked, taking it from her and turning it over in his hands.

"A...fork."

"Fork..." It was hard and one end poked him when he touched it.

"Yes... And this is a spoon." She handed him another object. It looked like a shovel. Only it was too small and probably couldn't dig up anything.

"What are they for?" He hit them together. They made a _tink _sound and it was...weird. But he did it again and again.

* * *

She didn't know what she was looking at. Well, no, it was Inuyasha hitting a fork and spoon together, but she had no idea why he didn't know what these were. Then again...he's a Soul Reaper. A new Soul Reaper- Wait, no. No, he wasn't that at all. He was... She had no idea what he was, but he should know what a fork and spoon were. He looked at her, waiting for her to answer.

"Eat!" she blurted, not meaning to yell it. She reddened and brought her hands to her cheeks. He couldn't see them color if her hands were in the way. "You eat food with them."

"What?" He frowned at the objects in his hands. "No, you don't. You eat food with sticks that chop."

She lightly squeezed her cheeks together. "Chopsticks? Do you want those instead?"

"No." He was distracted now. He held the fork and spoon in each fist, resembling a child using utensils for the first time.

"You only need one," she said, amused by his behavior.

"Which one?"

"Either one."

"But which one's the right one?"

"There...isn't a right one, per say. They both help you eat."

"Why can't I use both?"

She giggled, couldn't help it. "Well, you can try, but it'll make it difficult for you. Here." She scooted over to him and gently took the spoon. "You hold it like this and," she scooped the corn, "then you eat it." And she did.

* * *

Inuyasha watched intently. It looked a lot easier than the sticks, but it was weird.

She was weird.

He imitated holding the object as best he could, though it felt out of place in his hand, and sunk it into the bowl she had.

"See, you got it," she encouraged. He peeked at her, wanting more praise to see if he was still doing it right, and brought the food to his mouth. It was...good, whatever it was. Kind of sweet, but good. She clapped, "You did it!"

He snorted. "It wasn't that hard." Though, he'd prefer chopsticks because that's what he's use to.

"Do you want to try this?" She pulled a square bowl that had a chunk of meat with the first half cut into slices. Unconsciously, he sniffed the air.

"What is it?"

"A roast."

"What's a roast?"

"Well...it's meat that is...roasted...um... It's good." She set her tool down, reached for a slice, and took a bite out of it. "Mm!" She grinned. "Good!"

He stared at her, wondering if she was lying. He didn't know why she would be, but these foods are a complete mystery. Nevertheless, he took a slice as well, held it in front of him for a moment, and took a bite. He chewed, paused, then looked back at the slice.

"Is...i-is something wrong?" she asked.

"It's...really good."

* * *

That surprised her. What he said didn't surprise her – though she was pleased – but how his words affected her surprised her. Her cheeks felt hot and she was overcome with both embarrassment and happiness. She felt the same way when Kisuke praised her cooking, but this was a considerably different feeling.

"Um," she pushed hair behind her ear, "I'm glad you like it. Please, eat as much as you want."

For the next half hour, they talked. Most of it consisting of Inuyasha asking what something was, to which Orihime would explain; however, that would cause him to ask what something in her explanation meant. She was fairly surprised by what he asked. It was like he hadn't seen the world before.

"How come you don't know this stuff?" she finally asked. "Don't you... Aren't these things in...wherever it is you're from?"

He shook his head, poking his fork at the Dirt Cake. "None of this stuff is around in the Feudal Era. No one's made it yet or something." He took a sample of the cake and tasted it, surprising himself by how much he liked it.

"The Feudal Era?" Orihime repeated. "Where's that?"

"In Kagome's well," he said, mouth full of cake. "Or a long time before now. It's something like that."

"Oh... Okay." She didn't get it. Where he's from, people probably had a completely different lingo. "Does this mean you're not from the Soul Society?"

"The what?" He looked at her as he ate. Orihime noted that he looked like a kid who had tried sweets for the first time and had no intentions of stopping now. "What's that?"

"Well... Where the Soul Reapers live. Are you a Soul Reaper?"

"No," he said, still trying to process this, "I'm a demon."

She scrunched her brows. "A...demon?"

"Well, a half demon." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"I don't think I understand. What are you exactly?"

"Half demon." He eyed the bowl. It was almost half gone. "What aren't you getting about this? You're a human and I'm a demon."

"But...you look nothing like a demon."

He sighed, not really liking how he had to keep admitting he's not full demon. "_Half _demon. My mom was a human and my dad was a demon."

She felt like she was over thinking this, but in its simplest form, he still didn't make sense. He claims to be a demon, but demons were big and weird looking. He was normal size with fuzzy ears.

"Can I ask you something?" he said. Orihime focused on him again, noticing that he stopped eating and was hitting his fork on the inside of the bowl. Did he get a stomach ache? He eats as much as Kisuke.

"Okay."

"Why did you invite me tonight?"

She tensed. A part of her had hoped they'd go the whole time without that being brought up. "Ah... Well, because I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Yes. You...brought my clips even though you need them. I'm sorry that your crystal did whatever it is it did, and I promise to give it back as soon as I figure how to get it out."

"You don't want it?"

"The crystal?" His eyes told her that he was serious, but she didn't know why. She had told him she didn't want it before. "No, no it's not mine. It's yours."

"You mean...? Wait," he set the bowl on the table and faced her, "you really don't want the jewel shard?"

"N...no."

* * *

What the hell was going on? She never wanted the jewel shard to begin with? But...she took it and... And now she doesn't even want it? Then she says the only reason it's still in her possession is because she doesn't know how to get it out? If that's true, if that's been the case all along, then what was the point in drawing things out for this long? Why did they meet? What was the point for feeling...for feeling... What, exactly? What was he trying to say? Why was he pretending like he didn't know already?

He looked to her, a bit startled, when he heard her giggle. It was a sweet sound, a sound that made something in him constrict.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry, that was rude of me. It's just," she stifled another giggle, "you're eating with this spaced out look on your face. It's like you don't even know you're eating at all."

Inuyasha looked to the side, his bowl was nearly empty. Damn this cake, as she called it. His hand was holding the thing she called a fork and was hovering over the bowl. "Huh."

Surprisingly, something about that lifted all tension between them. They talked and laughed with each other for hours. There was a lot of things that she said that he didn't get and vis versa, but that only caused more amusement for the two. Orihime glanced at the time.

"Oh!" she gasped.

"What is it?" He looked where she was looking, but didn't know what to lay his eyes on.

"It's really late. I have school tomorrow, and I haven't done any of my homework yet."

"School? You do that, too?"

"Yes. Do you have school?"

He shook his head, "Kagome does. She's always going."

"Who is Kagome? You mention her a lot."

* * *

He thought about that. He didn't know why, but he had to think about this one. Who was Kagome to him and how did he want Orihime to view her? There was nothing he had to hide because there was nothing going on between him and Orihime... But was there something going on between him and Kagome? True, they had moments that made him feel things, but why didn't he want Orihime to know that? Why didn't he want her to get the wrong idea? Again, he supposed he knew the answer to that, too.

"She's a friend," he finally said. "Just someone I know."

* * *

And so, the dinner ended. Orihime and Inuyasha stood up and walked toward the door. She really enjoyed his company. He didn't seem to be mad at her anymore either.

She opened the door, "I'm glad you kept me company. It's not every day someone comes to my place for dinner."

"Don't you eat with your family?"

"Uh... Not...really, no. Um, I live by myself. B-but lately I've been eating with a friend and it's really not that bad!" She rubbed the side of her head, smiling. "It's kind of fun."

Inuyasha glanced at the ground then back at her. "Do you...ever get lonely?"

"Well, sometimes, but not a lot. I'm fine."

"Well...thanks for the food."

"Anytime!"

Inuyasha walked out the door, but he stopped. He'd appear as though he were going to take another step, but then he'd rock back on his heels. Finally, he turned around. He looked defensive.

"Orihime," he said, determined.

"Yes?"

"Do you... I mean tomorrow... Not that I'm doing this for my sake or anything, but...I could eat with you again."

She gasped silently, gripping the door frame. "Oh... Um." She blinked a few times. "I would love if you came back, but...I... I don't know if I'd be here."

"Oh..." She noticed how his ears drooped. She suddenly felt bad. He must have gotten the wrong idea.

"I didn't mean that as in I don't want you! It's... I think..." She sighed, smiling softly, trying to keep her eyes bright. "I'm in big trouble, and I think I'm going to get taken away soon."

He perked up, frowning a bit – but he always seemed to be frowning. "Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

She bit her bottom lip. "Um... In the Soul Society, it's a bad thing if you take back the soul of someone who died. When I... That night when I hurt you, I had to get your soul back to save you." She laughed, no humor behind it. "And now I'm in trouble."

"Wha?! If it was a bad thing to do then why'd ya do it?"

She shrugged slightly. "I didn't know it was bad, but even if I did...I might have done it anyway."

"Why? You didn't even know me."

"That...is something I don't have an answer for. Sorry."

He stood there, staring at her. She didn't know what it meant, it scared her a little. Was he mad at her? If so, why?

"Are you leaving tomorrow?" he asked.

"I...don't know."

Silence for a moment. "I'm coming back," he said, bowing his eyes from her view.

"But... But I told you-"

"I'm coming back!" He turned and jumped over the rail. She ran to it, leaning over it to see him leap onto the roofs and away from her.

"But I already told you..." she whispered.

"Heeeeey! Orihime! Whaddya doin' up?"

She looked over to see a lively Rangiku stepping onto her level. She seemed to be...drunk.

"Rangiku," she was surprised by the dazed look in her eyes, "you're home early."

"Ha! Thass because ev'ryone's a bunch of light weights! Can't-" she hiccupped, "-can't hold their liquor fer nothin'!"

Orihime cracked a smile, walking the rest of the distance so she could help her friend make it into the apartment. "Sorry to hear that."

"Nah, nah, it's finnnne! Say! Say! How'ds yer dinner go?"

"It...it was something."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hm... There's not much I can say... Other than: I'm taking a break from my other story to stick with you lovely bunches for a few chapters. Eight, to be exact. Then, I'll switch back to them and we'll rotate like that. Now you'll get the brunt of all my nonsense words before the story begins! Yay, fun!**

**Fine! I apologize for being gone so long! I got taken in by how much they reviewed and people kept telling me how happy it made them and I...lost myself. I'm sorry! But I'm dedicated to all of you once again. Oh, you may not take me back, but I'm begging you! I love you! Okay, enjoy!**

**_Not All Red Threads #9_**

Inuyasha took his time returning to his place of origin. When he first left her home, he had sprinted over rooftops and launched himself through the air until he recognized landmarks in Kagome's side of town. This, he knew, was far enough. The two girls were on completely different sides of Japan, it seemed.

He walked the streets of the warm night. Few people were out and there were those who shamelessly gawked at him for reasons he still did not understand, but it didn't matter. Kagome wasn't around, so he couldn't get in trouble or yelled at to put on one of those weird hats – interesting, but weird all the same. No, he didn't care if people stared at him because he needed time to think. Sooner or later he'll have to realize that thinking this much wasn't good for him, but he desperately needed to right now. He was...deeply troubled by what Orihime had told him. _She_ was in trouble, would possibly be taken away, and it was more or less his fault. But could it _really _have been his fault? The only reason he kept going around her was because of the jewel shards; that was something that couldn't have been helped. And the only reason he had so much trouble with it was because she was hard to detect. She...wasn't easy to be around. She... She was just...different.

He sighed harshly, shaking his head. She could have avoided this fate if she had just let him die. She had no reason to harbor any form of sympathy or remorse for killing him. They didn't know each other! They only really got to know each other _tonight_, but that didn't need to happen either. She could have been rid of him and kept the jewel shard and...and... Well, she said she didn't want the shard. This whole thing was an accident encounter, but was it _meant _to happen? This all started the day he chased that loathsome demon to her part of town. That day had been put out of his head, but now it was important to remember.

He saw the demon when it was still in the Feudal Era and it hadn't obtained the shard yet. It was nothing but a boar-sized, horned creature that even Shippo could take, and it appeared to be blind, or just had a hard time opening its eyes. There was nothing significant about it, it was just passing by him as they walked through the forest, but he felt compelled to follow it. So, he did.

For the entire morning, he followed that damned thing around as it stumbled about like a newborn and then...the shard came. They were near the well when the gleam hit Inuyasha's eyes. How it got there, he didn't know. It must have _just _got there because someone he knew would have surely found it sooner, but, the point was, it was there, gleaming in the grass. The demon didn't seem to notice it, the jewel didn't seem to be the reason it came here, but Inuyasha waited. The tiny demon trudged towards the well blindly, running into the wood and cowering in place for a moment, slightly whining. Still, Inuyasha watched. He knew he could just walk and get the shard, the easiest find ever, but he waited. Finally, the little thing sniffed around, pausing at the shard, and – with an ever observant Inuyasha a few feet away – swallowed it.

The demon grew in size, but that was all for the moment. It was taller than the well and it stepped through it, though not on purpose, it seemed. Inuyasha quickly ran over to peer into the well and was not surprised to see that it was gone. Naturally, he jumped in after it, but he felt no urgency in his movements.

On the other side, both demons ventured through wooded areas when possible, and the bi-pedal of the two noticed how the other kept morphing and growing right before his eyes. Still, he felt nothing. No urgency to act. It wasn't until they were in the part of town that Inuyasha now knew to be halfway to Orihime's house that the morphing was complete. The demon was now taller than Inuyasha, taller than the trees if it stood, and it noticed him for the first time.

"Half demon," it sneered. "Are you lost or did you come to die?"

Inuyasha scoffed, "And here I thought I wouldn't have a reason to kill you."

"What was that, you inferior mutt?!"

"Forget it," Inuyasha smirked, drawing his weapon. "Let's just get this over with."

And things have been different ever since. It wasn't even that long ago, and he's found his emotions yearning for that girl – for Orihime - so bad. Was it safe to admit that? His feelings for Orihime became hard to ignore a while ago, but it was okay now, right? Because she liked him, right? She invited him to dinner, so it _had _to be right. So...he had to do something for her. If she's in trouble at his expense then he had to do _something._

He reached the well and stared down it for a long time. What did he plan to do exactly? What _could_ he do? He didn't have the answer and had a feeling he wouldn't know the answer when he returned. Sighing, he jumped into the well and took in the lights and weightlessness. In the back of his mind, he wondered how Orihime would look in this pseudo-state of falling. With her hair hovering around her and the lights curving to her body, she'd probably look like a goddess. He laughed once his feet made contact with the ground. What was he thinking? He couldn't bring Orihime here.

Inuyasha jumped out of the well and sprinted to Kaede's hut. Much to his relief, the person he had business with was already outside.

"Miroku," Inuyasha called to the dozing monk sitting against the hut. Miroku looked at the approaching half demon as he rubbed his eyes.

"Ah, Inuyasha," he grinned, not able to hide his exhaustion.

"What're you doin' out here?"

"I guess you could say this is my punishment."

Inuyasha's shoulders slumped. "You got on Sango's bad side again?"

"What? No, no. We just...didn't agree, that's all."

"Yeah? About what?"

The monk scratched the side of his face. "Eh... Nevermind that. How'd your rendezvous go?"

"Well...good. I think. It was very...weird at first, but we talked and..." He didn't know how to go on.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku forced himself to wake up a bit more. "Did something happen?"

"That's... Uh, can we take a walk? I have a lot on my mind."

Miroku blinked at his comrade. Was he coming to him for advice _again_? He didn't mind, and he was glad to help, but Inuyasha didn't rely on people – at least not him. "Sure."

The two walked out of the village in silence. Miroku had now fully awakened and was certain to let Inuyasha be the first to speak when he was ready. Still, he was itching to know what was bothering him. It must have had something to do with the dinner date he had with Kagome. That would explain why _she _wasn't back yet.

"I," Inuyasha started, "don't really know if she likes me."

"Huh?"

"I know we said that she must have invited me over because she likes me and wanted to cook for me, but maybe she just wanted to cook for me, ya know? I don't think it's more...than just that."

Miroku noticed how his ears drooped. "Inuyasha, take it from someone that can see the situation from a neutral perspective. She likes you."

He frowned at the ground. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because she worries about you, doesn't she?"

"Well...yeah, I guess."

"She cares for you, right?"

He shrugged, brain throbbing. "Maybe. I can't tell."

"Come now, Inuyasha, Kagome has made it clear more than-"

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha stared at his new consultant in emotional matters quzzically.

"I'm telling you that Kagome-"

"Why are why talking about Kagome?"

"Why?" Miroku thought as hard as he could in a short amount of time. "Isn't that why you've come to talk to me?"

"No, I came to talk to you about the dinner and junk."

"With Kagome," he nodded.

"Wha? No, it has nothing to do with Kagome. The girl I'm talking about is named Orihime."

"What?!"

The two men stopped. They had made it far enough from the village where Miroku's yelling couldn't bother anyone. The monk stared at his friend with wide, ignorant eyes.

"Are you telling me that you met someone else in Kagome's time?"

"Met someone else? You make it sound like I'm sneaking around."

"You _are_ sneaking around! Listen, Inuyasha, I know I make it seem like fun, but you do _not _want to juggle two women, okay? It does not work well in the end."

"I'm not juggling two women." He stopped to think. "I don't even have one!"

"You cannot be serious," Miroku gaped. "You have _Kagome_! Right? The two of you seemed to be...close like that."

Inuyasha put up his hands defensively, trying to think and talk at the same time. "Look, I'll admit that I get into odd situations with her and maybe I thought something was there, but... In reality, we're not really...together and what I'm going through now is a lot..." Inuyasha sighed harshly. He tried forcing out words to come close to what he wanted to say, but settled with blurting out, "Different! Okay? Things with Orihime are a lot different and I'm not even sure there's anything there either!"

Miroku had to take a moment to assess the situation; he had just been thrust into a situation he wasn't prepared for. Inuyasha likes another girl? Inuyasha likes another girl that _he met _in Kagome's time?

"Whoa," he sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead. "Inuyasha, tell me. How did you meet this... Uh, this..."

"Her name is Orihime," he said softly. The half demon stared at the ground, his ears flat. He appeared as though he were remembering something pleasant that also caused him a great deal of pain. Miroku didn't know how to describe how seeing Inuyasha like this made him think he could _feel _what he was feeling. What was going on?

He spoke softly. "Inuyasha?"

And then he broke down. Inuyasha collapsed to a crouch with his hands gripping the side of his head. Miroku immediately descended to his level and placed a steady hand on his friend's back. He was going to ask him if he were alright, but he was shocked by Inuyasha's wide eyes that stared at something not in this world. He looked...like a madman.

"This is crazy," he whispered, almost frantic. "From the day I met her, I couldn't get her out of mind and now... It's impossible. It hasn't been long since we've met, but she's taking over my mind."

This was a conflicting matter. Miroku knew that the way he went about this could easily be seen as him picking between two friends. If he helped Inuyasha cope with these feelings for this woman he's never met, that would be going against Kagome. Likewise, if he tried to convince Inuyasha that his feelings for Kagome and the connection he has with her could never be matched, then he would essentially be belittling the feelings he had. That was the worst part of it all. If Inuyasha had come to him acting the way he normally did, then the decision would be easy to make. But...he was like _this_. He was a young man confused with feelings he's never experienced before and...they may actually be something to look into. Miroku leaned his staff in the crook of his shoulder and rubbed his face. This was not going to be easy.

"Inuyasha, help me understand how this all started."

Inuyasha was skeptical at first. Sure, he came to Miroku with his problems, but pouring his heart out to him was a completely different matter. Still...he needed help... So, he put his pride and insecurities aside.

He started the story when he woke up at Orihime's place, but there was a nagging feeling telling him to start where it actually began: In this time. It was all an incredibly stupid feeling to pour out his love woes to a lecherous monk such as Miroku, but what was he suppose to do? When the goof all of a sudden looked serious and actively paid attention to everything he was saying, how could he not relay every single detail? He told of all events, all emotions felt, and all thoughts he had at the time. By the time tonight's happenings were told, Inuyasha felt like his head was lighter.

"I see," Miroku nodded, eyes closed. "Inuyasha, is it safe to say that you have strong feelings for this girl even though you know little about her?"

He nodded despite hearing the logic in Miroku's words.

"Would you say that you love her?"

"Love her?" he repeated, taken aback. "Even I know that it takes more time to fall in love with a person."

"Yes, but would you say it anyway?"

He had to think. Would he say that? It was too soon and he didn't know much about her, but is that what he felt?

"I don't know," he finally admitted.

"It seems to me that this is not an ordinary occurrence. Even though you allowed that demon into Kagome's time, it seems odd that this girl did not react to your appearance or your abilities like most people do." He shook his head. "Even in our time, people are not accustomed to the way you are."

"Thanks for reminding me," he grumbled.

"Do you not see, Inuyasha? How do people in Kagome's time view you?"

"Well...not many people have seen what I am or what I can do... But they give me weird looks."

"And did this girl give you those looks?"

"Actually, she...she didn't give me any look other than concern. She treated me like a normal person... Even tonight, she laughed with me and taught me things without any hesitation."

"Exactly. I can't tell you how she feels, but she must be...special, in some way."

Special? Miroku thought she was special and he hadn't even met her? Inuyasha knew she was different, but was she a special case? Did they _have _to meet?

"And," Miroku added, "do you truly believe the situation she is in is _your_ fault?"

He nodded solemnly.

Miroku looked to the side for a moment. "Honestly speaking, could I convince you otherwise?"

Inuyasha's lips slightly twitched upward and he shook his head.

"Well then, what are you going to do?"

"I have to help her."

"How?"

He shrugged. "Just doing, I guess. She kept talking about some society, so I guess I have to deal with them."

"Going after some unknown enemy in a world we know very little about." Miroku shook his head. "I would like to talk you out of it, but my breath would be wasted, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," he grinned. "It would."

"Very well." Miroku stood up and extended a hand to help his friend. "If this is the path you choose then I cannot stop you." He pulled his friend to his feet. "Though, allow me to meet her some time."

Inuyasha's eyes squinted. "Why?"

"I'm curious. What kind of girl is capable of reducing you to tears?"

"I didn't cry," he scowled as they headed back to the village.

"I'm pretty sure I saw tears."

"You saw spirits."

The two talked leisurely. Inuyasha definitely felt better now that he voiced some of his concerns, but he still had some details to figure out. Hopefully, things would come to him as they go.

"So," Miroku tried to be nonchalant, "is this a secret I have to keep?"

"It'd work out better that way."

"I was thinking the same thing." He ran through tonight's conversation once more. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"As long as you don't ask me to describe how Orihime looks."

"Fine. Something else then." Pause. "What...does all this mean for you and Kagome?"

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like this question, but he might as well sort it out while he was in a mood to think a bit more. "It shouldn't mean anything for us because we aren't...together."

"You two aren't together, no, but there was something there."

"Maybe there was, but...things are just different now. She's still a good friend and it's not like anything happened between us that tells _me_ I need to tell _her_ about Orihime."

"Don't you think you should anyway?"

Inuyasha frowned. "No."

* * *

When the sun rose, Inuyasha was wandering the forest outside of the village. He had thankfully gotten some sleep due to the crash from his extensive adrenaline rush, but this did nothing to ease him. He still had an issue that he has yet to resolve, and it was something he didn't know _how _to resolve. How could he get Orihime out of trouble when he didn't fully understand how he got her into trouble in the first place? Furthermore, why was she so accepting of her punishment when all she did was help him? She should be angry. She should be fighting this! She should... She just needed to be safe.

His time in the Feudal Era was long and was spent in solitude. He hoped that if anyone questioned his whereabouts, Miroku would be reliable enough to give a convincing excuse. He supposed he'd be confronted about his disappearances sooner or later, but he'd wait until 'later' happened (because he would be disappearing a lot more).

When the burnt orange veil of evening draped across the sky, Inuyasha was already making the transition into Orihime's time. Traveling to Orihime's side of town was already programmed into his brain and he arrived at her door much sooner than he thought was possible. It was then that he began to wonder what she would think of him for showing up like this. Yes, he told her he was coming back, but how did she view him? He put up a tough act, but he didn't even have a plan – nothing has happened yet.

Putting aside his unusually common internal conflicts, he knocked on her door.

One minute passed.

Two minutes passed and no movement could be heard.

He knocked again, summoning his irritable nature to put more force behind it. Two more minutes, and still no sound. Inuyasha sat in front of her door. Well, he was early, compared to last night. For some reason, she likes to walk around at night, so the sky needed to get a few shades darker until she showed up.

And then his thoughts took a slightly more unsettling turn. She could be out doing whatever it is she did...or she could be in...some need of help. Even if she was, she had the weird power of hers to help, but...she didn't seem like the fighting type. She even said she attacked him by accident...

He hated that he took up thinking.

Inuyasha turned his head to the side, sniffing the crease of the door to take in as much of her scent as possible. Detecting her would have to be a skill he honed and there was no better time to start than now.

He jumped over the rail and down to the ground. He sniffed around, zeroing in on the one that was hers. It took him a while, but when he was sure he found it, he set himself in motion once again. He wandered down many streets and took a few turns. A few times he had to remind himself who he was looking for because he would be lost in the scent and the girl it reminded him of. This was crazy. Worrying over her was crazy, but if he could tell himself to stop, he wouldn't be in this mess.

Inuyasha came to a halt. He sniffed the ground and surrounding areas, but he couldn't find her. Where did the scent go all of a sudden? He climbed on top of a nearby building and scanned the area. There were many buildings like the one he was on, areas that seemed exclusive to trees and other forms of nature, and in the distance he saw a form of housing that reminded him of something that could be found in his time. It was an interesting sight to see. He thought this time had lost the simplicity of life.

He scanned some more when his eyes locked on to a figure with orange hair walking in the direction the house was in. Only...this person was taller, more lean, and the hair was short and spiky. Inuyasha frowned. Not the person he was looking for, but not many people in this time had that hair color like Orihime. If luck was on his side, that person would know her.

But luck hasn't been so kind to him.

* * *

Ichigo was on his way to Kisuke Urahara's shop. Rukia's gigai had been acting up, and it was the perfect chance to not only inquire about some new merchandise, but about other pressing matters as well. Tatsuki informed him that Orihime claimed to be cooking dinner for Mr. Hat-And-Clogs. His childhood friend was convinced Orihime made it up to cover for something else, but it bothered him nonetheless. Out of all the lies she could have come up with...that one seemed too plausible. When it came to lying, the auburn girl never made sense, so then he was curious as to why she would be cooking for him. Since when were they in a position where she felt comfortable offering or he felt bold enough to request it? Orihime cooking... He must be after something else because, no offense to her, Orihime couldn't cook.

Then there was the next question: When would they have time to interact like that? Kisuke didn't wander around town amongst humans, so that would mean Orihime was the one to visit him. Why? Was it possible that...somehow, for some reason...they were dating? Ichigo shook his head. It wasn't impossible, but it was highly unlikely and...wrong. Kisuke was old. _Really _old. Did pedophilia exist in the Soul Society and could this be classified as a case? He didn't know. That's why he was going to find out.

However, as he walked down the twilight lit streets, he couldn't ignore the being that was following him. It didn't bother him, not really, because whatever or whoever it was seemed to be curious more than anything, but when was it just going to stop him and speak? That, he also didn't know. Didn't know if he _cared_, but he couldn't ignore it.

After a few more steps, Ichigo ruffled his hair and stopped. He turned and looked at a streetlamp above him. A red cloaked figure with silver hair and...dog ears? Cat ears? Whatever. He was being stared at by something that definitely wasn't human and was perched on the streetlamp like...a cat. Maybe a dog? What was it?

"Can I help you?" Ichigo asked. The figure stared at him. "Look, I can see you, alright? Wearing red, silver hair," Ichigo pointed at his own head. "You have these...things on your head. Do you need something?"

The figure cocked its head then jumped down in front of him. It was a boy, probably his age, and was maybe three inches shorter than him. Taking in his appearance, most notably the sword, Ichigo made an assumption.

"Are you a Soul Reaper?"

"What?" he asked, making a face. "No. Why is that so common here?"

Ichigo studied him more. He didn't know if the boy was glaring at him or if that was just the way his face was set. "Well, you've caught my attention. What do you need?"

"What makes you think I need something?"

"You've been following me, and I didn't sense any malice from you, so you're a spirit, maybe?"

He huffed impatiently. "No, I'm-!" He groaned. "Forget it. I'm looking for a girl. She's about this high," he brought his hand up to indicate the size, but had trouble knowing how high to place it, "kinda weird with big eyes."

"Kinda weird, huh?" A lot of the girls Ichigo knew were 'kinda weird'. "Any more details than that?"

He was about to speak when he suddenly started sniffing the air, turning his head toward Ichigo's left. "Nevermind," he said, jumping over buildings as he raced to who knows where.

Ichigo stared for a moment. That wasn't the weirdest thing he's ever experienced, but it was definitely odd. He vaguely noted that the energy he felt from that..._that_ was different from any other being he's encountered so far.

* * *

Orihime walked in silence, thoughts consumed by too many things at once. Kisuke wasn't happy tonight. He forced it, tried to smile and laugh for her sake, but he was on edge. When it was time for her to go, he kept trying to convince her to stay. She knew what it must have been about. She was okay, though. This was something she was prepared for.

"Orihime!"

She looked over, eyes widening of their own accord. She watched as a figure hopped over buildings and landed mere feet away from her.

"Inuyasha," she breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I was coming back."

She cracked a smile, a painful one. "Inuyasha... This is a bad time. I-"

A bright light appeared to the right of her. The two looked over as a portal formed and opened. Through it, a troubled Rangiku and a stoic Hitsugaya emerged.

"Orihime Inoue," the shorter of the two said, "come with us."

She bit her lip, nodding. She glanced at the golden eyed boy and gave him a soft smile. "Bye, Inuyasha."


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm not sure...but I think I have a paper due in nine hours that I haven't even started on. Eh. I'll do it in the morning. Kids, and other figures of age, listen to me! Procrastination is not a trait you wish to keep! Do as I say and not as I do: Get your work done as soon as possible, okay? Awight.**

**Also, BloodPokemon101 has an Angel Beats poll going on, so if you'd show your fellow reader some love, please go scope her page and take part in the votey-vote. I'm not saying that will make you a better person...but it makes you slightly more loveable than...everyone...else...**

**And! If you're a reader from my other story that came and scoped this one... Hey there. Lookin' mighty cute today, huh? Okay, enjoy!**

**_Not All Red Threads #10_**

He remembers being very, very...ticked.

He watched as she glanced into that gaping light that came out of nowhere. He watched as she gave him that half-assed smile. And, of course, he watched as she turned her back on him and began walking into that light.

He was...just ticked.

Very, very ticked.

He said he was coming back and he had _proved _it, so why wasn't she staying? It bothered him more than anything in his life, which caused him to act as he would to any other irritant in his life: Impulsively.

He ran in after her.

There was a brief moment where he felt that warping, rushing feeling of passing through dimensions – something similar to going and to and from the Feudal Era – only there was no sense of weightlessness. Again, it was brief, and he was not sure of all he felt because the very next moment, bright, artificial light bombarded his eyes. He was in a room with tatami mats and sliding doors. This room was enclosed, and, possibly, surrounded by other rooms. It looked a lot – _a lot –_ like the Feudal Era, but that was impossible. The only way to get there was through Kagome's well.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Inuyasha looked at the three people in front of him. There was a short, white haired kid standing directly in front of him. His icy blue eyes were glaring at the half demon and he was in a battle stance, gripping his sword. Behind him was a woman with long, golden hair with... Uh, he averted his eyes, and that's when he saw her.

Orihime.

She was alright, but she was looking at him like she was scared of something.

"I'll ask you again," the kid in front of him threatened. "Who. Are. You?"

"Who are _you_," he countered. "And why did you take Orihime?"

"That is none of your concern."

"I think it is." Inuyasha braced his hand on his own sword. "See, she's a friend of mine, and I don't intend to lose her to a kid."

"Kid?" He crouched lower, slowly drawing his weapon. A vein pulsed on his forehead. "Prepare to die-"

"Wait!" Orihime darted in front of Inuyasha, shielding him. "He's not here to cause trouble!"

"Then why is he here?" the kid scowled. "Miss. Inoue, if you're trying to make an escape then your punishment will increase tenfold."

"Wait." Inuyasha frowned. "Is he part of this society you were telling me about?"

"You told him about the Soul Society?!" The kid's face became red, the vein is his forehead throbbing more. "I can stand this no longer."

"Get behind me, Orihime," Inuyasha said as he pulled her out of the way, readying his sword. "This could get interesting."

The two glowered at the other, gripping their weapons. Orihime looked on in confusion and fear. Rangiku took a step forward from her position, one hand extended as if she could halt what was happening with her hand alone.

"Inuyasha," Orihime whispered, taking half a step closer, "don't-"

"Reign over the Frosted Heavens-!"

"Have a taste of my-!"

"Captain!"

"Inuyasha!"

"-Hyōrinmaru!"

"-Wind Scar!"

* * *

Ichigo stood in front of Kisuke's door. He felt something. It felt like a portal opened up somewhere, but it was gone now. There was no presence of a Hollow or any other being. If anything, it felt like someone left. He shrugged. There was no threat, so he could check it out later.

The substitute Soul Reaper pressed on the doorbell and waited. After thirty seconds, he pressed it again. He waited a while longer before his irritation got the best of him. Kisuke rarely left his house, and he knew he wouldn't change that tonight.

"Hey!" he pounded on the door. "Kisuke, it's Ichigo! Open up!"

"Ichigo?"

The carrot top turned around to see Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu walking through the gates. Tessai was carrying a lot of suitcases for some reason.

"Hey guys," Ichigo greeted passively, not at all fazed that they saw him assaulting their door. "Is Kisuke with you?"

"He should be home," Ururu said in that mousy tone of hers.

"He better be home." Jinta stormed to the door, roughly pushing Ichigo aside to use his key. "He better be jumping for joy when he sees that we're back."

The rowdy red-head thrust the door open and announced their arrival. Ururu followed, bowing as she passed Ichigo.

"So, is it new equipment you are looking for?" Tessai asked as he hauled the bags inside. Ichigo followed awkwardly as he shut the door behind them.

"Something like that. I need to have a talk with Kisuke about a," he made a sound from the back of his throat, "troubling issue."

"Ah. He over-stepped his boundaries, I see."

Ichigo smirked. "Something like that, I guess." He paused, listening. "Is he asleep or something? He's usually ready to pounce on anyone who walks in."

Tessai walked to the living room and set the bags down. "He must be in his...study. Allow me to get him."

The muscular man exited the room without waiting for a reply. Ichigo sat at the table in the middle of the room. This was starting to bother him; this room was bothering him. He ran a calloused hand across the wood just to verify suspicions that wouldn't be eased. He wasn't sure, but there were faint traces of Orihime's spiritual pressure. Why would she come here? Why would she come to Kisuke? Tessai and the others seemed to just get back from a trip, so why would Orihime come here to be _alone _with Kisuke? Orihime wasn't the type to engage in...inappropriate behavior, so could she really be cooking for him? Was that all there was to it?

"Ichigo!"

He looked up to find a disheveled Kisuke slumping into the doorway. He wasn't wearing his hat, his hair was in a disarray, and his robe wasn't on right.

"What's the matter with you?" Ichigo asked, more confused than worried.

"Never mind that. I need you to go to the Soul Society right now."

"What? Why? I came here to talk to you."

"It has to wait!" the man yelled, voice strained. "They took Orihime!"

The substitute Soul Reaper stared at the man. He breathed evenly despite how hard it was to keep his chest from inflating more than usual.

"What are you talking about?" he finally ground out, hands balled into fists.

* * *

Orihime found herself in a very troubling situation located in a very unsettling environment. When she followed Rangiku and her captain, she expected to be taken to some kind of prison cell right away. She did not expect to step into a room that vaguely resembled Kisuke's living room, and she was mortified to feel that familiar presence behind them. Rangiku instinctively pulled the auburn girl behind her, but Orihime's hand softly gripped the protective arm. The busty shinigami shot a questioning glance at the girl; however, Orihime's eyes fixed themselves on the intruder. There wasn't a reason in the world that could accurately explain why he stood before them. Through all the confusion and panic, Orihime hadn't even considered that Inuyasha followed them here of his own free will.

She had been petrified when Rangiku's captain and Inuyasha lunged at each other – each yelling an impending attack. The auburn girl was ready to throw up a barrier, not yet decided to whom it would protect, when another move was yelled that bound both brawlers to opposite walls. Rangiku walked in between them and sighed heavily.

"What is the meaning of this?!" her captain snarled.

She pouted defiantly with her hands on her hips. "Engaging in combat in a place like this is no way for a captain to act!" she chided. "Furthermore, you had no reason to resort to this."

"What are you talking about? He infiltrated the Soul Society and knows our secrets thanks to-"

"No, hold it right there, Captain!" Rangiku pulled Orihime in around her shoulders. "There is no evidence that Orihime did anything traitorous against us. If she did, in fact, tell this..." She looked Inuyasha over. "Well..._him_ about us, I'm sure she had a sensible reason."

The icy glare of the small man chilled the young girl. "An explanation would be most welcome."

"Before that," Rangiku interrupted, "can you promise to behave? I would very much like to have a more...civilized way of conversing."

He grumbled before giving an insincere assurance of his behavior.

Rangiku turned Orihime around to face Inuyasha. The high school girl couldn't help but feel flustered as she locked gazes with the young man. She could only assume that she felt this way because, somehow, someway, she put her new-found friend in a very unfriendly situation.

"Orihime," her female friend whispered, "you seem to know this..._him._ Can you please make him promise to act appropriately?"

Orihime blushed. She looked at the ground before looking up again. Inuyasha stared back at her. He hadn't stopped staring at her. He continued to stare at her despite the fact that she was uncharacteristically bashful.

"Um...Inuyasha...?"

"What is it?" He spoke low, intimately, indifferent to their surroundings.

She huffed softly, almost like she was laughing, but a funny mood could not be given to her at the moment. "Promise not to fight with the captain anymore... Okay?"

Her eyes had wandered to the ground at some point during her request, but when he didn't answer immediately, her quivering orbs sought his again. The intense glare she'd known him to have was no longer present. He looked at peace with something, and it made her uncomfortably warm.

His gaze held for another moment before he finally replied with a soft spoken, "Okay."

She looked away, unaware to the fleeting gaze Rangiku pinned between the two. She patted Orihime on the shoulder, and released the red cloaked boy. He lightly landed on his feet. Rangiku left Orihime to tend to her impatient captain.

"Um," Orihime walked closer to Inuyasha for privacy's sake, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He looked her over. "You seem to be, too." He glanced at the Soul Reapers. "They feel weird."

"You can sense their spiritual pressure?"

"Their...what? I mean they have a weird sort of energy."

"That's because..." Would explaining help him understand? The jargon used to explain it all, even in its simplest form, may not correspond well to what he knows. "They are...different, yes. Even to me. Just like you're different to them. You're different to me, too."

His brows furrowed, almost like he was hurt.

"But! I...I'm different to them, too. I must be different to you... Right?"

"Different in a...different way."

She nibbled her bottom lip. "Why... Why did you come?"

"I..." He snorted, resuming his usual mannerisms. "I promised to come back to eat with you so you wouldn't be lonely, didn't I? That's hard to do when you decide to run off."

She blinked repeatedly. His sudden change surprised her, but she couldn't help cracking a smile. "I'm sorry," she giggled.

"Really? Then can we get back to your... Time, I guess."

"Well-"

"You two!" Captain Hitsugaya barked as he walked towards them. "You have one minute to tell me what the hell is going on."

Orihime feverishly relayed why she told Inuyasha about few particulars of the Soul Society and why (she thought) he was here. She finished within her superficial time limit, noticeably gasping for breath once it was over. The captain looked Inuyasha up and down.

"You actually believed we would recruit someone like him?"

"Give her a break," Rangiku smiled. "To her credit, we do know some very eccentric people."

He grunted. "You're right. After looking at you, he seems perfectly normal." He gave Inuyasha another quick inspection. "He looks more Hollow than Soul Reaper."

"He's not from around here," Orihime said shakily. She's never had interactions with Captain Hitsugaya, and she was displeased to find she was more intimidated by him than anyone she knew.

"Oh?" His next question was for the other colorless haired person. "Then where _are _you from?"

"What's it to you?" Inuyasha spat.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"It doesn't make a hell of a difference. I don't have to know you to not like you."

"This is getting us nowhere," Rangiku sighed. "Not to mention we're wanted in the Seireitei soon." She looked at Orihime and Inuyasha. "We can't just take him with us, but we don't have time to send him back either."

"Just bind him to the wall until we get back," Captain Hitsugaya muttered.

"Tell me," Rangiku said to Inuyasha. "Is there a reason you followed us? Orihime gave us a quick explanation, and I'm guessing it's safe to assume you and my Hime are close."

He continued to glare, but he couldn't put his heart into it when the woman before him didn't appear to be hostile. "If Orihime's in trouble for saving my life, then I'm not just going to sit back and watch her take the blame."

"Oh?" Rangiku's eyebrows raised. "You mean, _you're _the one whose soul passed through here? This is interesting..."

"Rules are rules," Hitsugaya reminded.

"It's a funny rule to be enforced all of a sudden, don't you think?" His subordinate frowned. "This is not the first soul we've seen taken back to the human world or any other world. That doesn't bother you, Captain?"

"Whether or not it bothers me isn't the issue. The issue is we've been given direct orders, and personal feelings are the least of our worries."

"Fine. But let's take him with us."

Captain Hitsugaya noticeably gaped at Rangiku. He turned toward Inuyasha and Orihime, both thoroughly confused about their standing in all of this, and gave them unnerving stares as well.

"You can't be serious," he finally said to Rangiku. "The last outsider to make it into the Seireitei has became a pain in my side that continues to work for us!"

"So, you'd rather condemn this poor girl for an act that has been nothing but honorable all because _Ichigo Kurosaki _is on your mind?"

"Look-"

"No, _you _look, Captain. We don't know to what degree Orihime is being charged, but we have a chance to free her from a harsh punishment. We protect souls, don't we? Does it really make a difference if the soul has left the body or not?"

The captain closed his eyes and twitched in place. Rangiku had an uncanny way of getting under his skin to make him see things her way. He didn't have anything against Orihime personally, but she was acquainted with Ichigo Kurosaki, and she _did _accompany him on their last visit here. Truth be told, out of that whole group, it was _only _Ichigo that managed to rub him the wrong way. If one of his friends was punished to the highest degree, then maybe it would make the pain feel like it was his fault in some way. Of course...this way of thinking didn't sit right with him even if he amped it up more than he already was.

He sighed, turning so he didn't have to face any of them. "Fine. We'll take him, but the next time something like this happens, I don't want to hear a word of protest coming from you."

"You have my word, Captain."

Inuyasha and Orihime were escorted to the Seireitei on foot. More accurately, Captain Hitsugaya carried Orihime while he and Rangiku leaped over rooftops while Inuyasha trailed a few feet behind.

"I'll admit he's fast," Hitsugaya muttered.

"What is he?" Rangiku asked vaguely.

"He's...from far away," Orihime said. It wasn't a complete lie, though it was far from an answer. "Where are we going?"

"Captain Yamamoto wishes to speak with you personally," the man carrying her replied.

Orihime's blood went cold. Captain Yamamoto? The Captain General himself? What exactly had she done? He was a very important man, so for him to take time out of his day to see her was nothing to brush off lightly. Orihime began to worry about her appearance. A school uniform was no way to meet a man of his social standing. Furthermore, she didn't have enough time to come up with a decent apology for all that she's caused. Although...no amount of apologizing would get her out of this...

They soon arrived at the doors of a towering building. Orihime was set down and Inuyasha was soon at her side. The group walked inside and navigated their way through many turns until they arrived at another set of towering doors. Hitsugaya knocked.

"Enter," the aged, yet, bellowing voice answered. The doors were pushed open and the first thing Orihime took note of was the man opposite room. She shuddered.

* * *

Inuyasha...wasn't sure how he felt. After the gargantuan doors opened, a long purple rug connected them to what lie directly across. On the other side of the room sat an old man with more wrinkles than even Kaede. He was bald, but the beard and mustache that pooled to the ground made him wonder how that was possible. Unknowingly, the half demon brought a hand to tug at his hair. This place held quite a few that had hair color similar to his. He's only seen two, the runt and the old man, but the only other person he's known to share this feature was his brother. And he hated his brother.

The old man had two people on either side of him. On the left was a man cloaked in pink with a floral design. He wore a tatami hat that hid his facial features, but Inuyasha noted he had brown hair. On the old man's right, there stood a man with white hair (so, now it's three) that was cloaked in white, like the majority of the people here. Inuyasha noted that this man's eyebrows were dark, contrasting with his hair. Could there be half demons in this so called Soul Society?

Both of the men looked too...relaxed. The man in pink's head bobbed like he was dozing off and the other smiled sympathetically at them. However, one thing was certain. They must be powerful or at least trusted by the old man because the energy Inuyasha felt coming from him made the half demon want to tremble.

"Captain," the runt said as both he and the woman next to him knelt on the ground. Orihime looked conflicted, but there was no telling why. Heck, he was a bit conflicted himself. He didn't anticipate doing all of..._this _when he came here. Usually, rescue missions were a lot more clean cut than this, so he has no idea how he ended up in this situation.

The old man opened his droopy eyes. Inuyasha knew right away when those aged eyes landed on him, and he knew full well what the geezer must have been thinking.

"Who is this?" the rumbling voice asked.

"He's with me," Orihime answered quickly.

"Is he? Why is that?"

"If I may," the woman on the ground lifted her head. "Pardon my interference in the matter, but I thought it wise for Orihime to bring him along seeing how this young man is involved in this."

"In what way?"

"The soul that was returned belonged to him. He claims Orihime saved his life."

A thick silence fell upon them. The two men that hadn't said a word since they arrived were alert in the matter, though their demeanor didn't change. There was no way to make sense of what was going on. Inuyasha had no idea what to look for or what to listen for, so he figured he'd wait until a fight was suggested before he said anything more.

"Approach," the old man commanded. The four closed the distance between them until they were no more than five feet away from the trio. "You," he said to Inuyasha. "Come closer."

Inuyasha froze. He wanted to openly defy him, but he held so much...authority. He didn't know how it was possible. Orihime gently nudged him and smiled softly. Whatever that was suppose to mean, it sent him into motion. He walked until he was a foot away from him; he refused to get any closer.

"Your name?"

A moment of hesitation. "Inuyasha."

"You are...half demon, are you not?"

Inuyasha flinched. The two men on either side shot curious looks at him.

"I am," he admitted reluctantly.

"As I thought." The man nodded his head calculatingly. "You are not from the human world." He paused. "No, that is not correct. If I am wrong, do not hold your tongue, but you are...the son of the Inu no Taishō?"

There were gasps, one of which coming from Inuyasha himself.

"You..." Inuyasha had to pause to breathe. "How did you know?"

"So it is true. I had heard his heirs were two sons."

"Sir," the white haired man on the right said, "how is this possible? Any heir to the Inu no Taishō should not be alive."

"By standard logic, we should not be alive either."

Inuyasha didn't even try to understand the meaning of that.

"Yes, but...do you honestly believe this to be his son?"

"Do you not see the resemblance? Go on. Take a good hard look."

"Captain-"

"That is an order."

The white haired man's shoulders slumped. He closed his eyes and sighed before setting his gaze upon Inuyasha. The half demon averted his gaze, but they always fell on one of the three pairs of eyes in front of him.

"Well, I see your point," he finally said. "But this is...odd. The resemblance is uncanny, but this does not dispute the fact that his heirs were born in Feudal Japan."

"Indeed," the old man, known as 'Captain', agreed. He spoke to Inuyasha, "So, how did you find your way into the human world?" Another pause. "Well, the current human world."

Inuyasha found himself explaining his situation more than he thought necessary. He explained how Kagome's well connected across time (though he was not certain about all the particulars), and even explained his situation with the Shikon Jewel.

"That reminds me," the old Captain said. "Inoue Orihime. Step forward."

There was a squeak as Orihime fidgeted her way to Inuyasha's side.

"Y-yes...C-Captain General?"

He took a moment to release a long, exaggerated sigh. "You have caused quite a bit of trouble for me."

"I-I'm sorry!" She bowed deeply. "I never intended to be a burden!"

Inuyasha cocked a brow at her. Even he knew the old guy was just joking with her.

"Come, come, none of that. Indulge me, both of you. Explain to me the events that led up to all of this."

Orihime and Inuyasha looked at each other. They both told the story. They filled in parts that the other had no knowledge of, and even debated on the happenings on a few events that they were both present for. Naturally, Inuyasha glossed over some parts and skipped events that a certain girl didn't need to hear in a room full of people he didn't know. By the end, both the runt and his comrade had joined the Geezer Captain at his side, so they could see the expressions on Inuyasha's and Orihime's faces.

"Most unusual," the eldest said as he rubbed his beard. "Here we have one child coming from Feudal Japan and then we have...you, Orihime."

"Y-yes?" she said, despite not being asked a question.

"You mentioned that you are acquainted with Urahara Kisuke, did you not?"

"I did... I cook for him and he's my friend, I guess you can say."

"That man," he sighed. "There is a fascination with your family that he cannot shake, it seems."

"P-pardon?"

Captain Yamamoto shook his head dismissively. "Now. What to do with both of you."

"If I may, Captain!" Rangiku interjected once again. "Excuse my behavior, but Orihime is not to be punished after all of this, right? I mean...you heard their stories and-"

"It is alright," the Captain raised his palm. "Please refrain yourself, lieutenant. She is not in any trouble."

"She's not?"

"I'm not?" Orihime blinked.

"She's not?" both Inuyasha and the runt gaped.

"No. She's not. After all, this young man – Inuyasha, was it? - not only lives in the Feudal Era, but he has lived far longer than should have been possible."

"I was pinned to a tree," Inuyasha reminded blandly.

"Exactly. For him to live so long and to be put under these...circumstances, well, it all seems to be destined." He paused to take in all the confused expressions. "Besides, if we were to take in everyone that brought back these souls, then those fighters with the orange spheres should be standing before me right now."

"Pardon me," the runt said, "but if this is the case, why did you tell us to arrest her under false pretenses?"

"To rattle Kisuke, of course. But also to pass on a warning. Orihime," he said firmly.

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"Stay away from Urahara Kisuke. From this point onward, you are to never have contact with that man again." He decided to add more encouragement after noting her hesitation, "If you cannot abide by my request, I will give the order to have him executed."


End file.
